


Serendipity

by zaffrenotes



Category: The Royal Romance (Visual Novel)
Genre: AU, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Tragedy, Angst with a Happy Ending, Developing Friendships, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Other, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Romantic Friendship, Slow Burn, TRR
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2019-09-21 12:54:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 28,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17044127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zaffrenotes/pseuds/zaffrenotes
Summary: What if Liam Rys was born a commoner, living a regular life as a young twenty-something college student in New York City? With nothing in his way to pursue his dreams and the possibility of meeting "the one," would fate still have a way to have him cross paths with someone his heart has been searching for?This is an Alternate Universe fic set in the USA where Liam meets MC (Katrina Bailey) one night, early in their junior year at college.





	1. The Stranger

**Author's Note:**

> As much as I love the canon TRR storyline and the fanfics whirling around after Book 3 ended, I wondered what it would be like if some of my favorite characters were totally normal people, living regular lives. Would they still find a way to end up together? While Liam's definitely charming and all-around sweet, I feel like he would be a huge flirt around someone that holds his interest. I also wanted to explore the friendship he has with Drake in a more natural setting - seeing two friends who have each other's 6 in any situation, without any implied romantic history. 
> 
> As this is an AU fic, there's no canon storyline to follow.

“You’re seriously going to stay here, on a Friday night?”

“Yes. I don’t feel like going out.”

“Come on, man, you’ve been moping the past two weeks… you barely dated the girl for a month. Grieving time has passed.”

“It was easier for her because she’d already found someone to replace me.”

“Liam. She wasn’t worth your time. Now quit feeling sorry for yourself, change your shirt, and come to this fucking party with me.” Drake ran his fingers through his hair and stared at his reflection in the mirror. “Do I look like I’m trying too hard with these clothes?”

Liam laughed at his friend; it was a denim shirt, how could that equate to trying too hard? “You look fine.” He got up from his bed and opened a dresser drawer, looking for a different shirt to wear. “Who’s the girl, anyway?”

“This gorgeous redhead in my poli sci class, legs for days.” Drake smirked. “We worked on a group project a few weeks back, she was a feisty one.”

“You and redheads,” Liam chuckled, shaking his head. He selected a blue Henley shirt from the drawer and pulled off his shirt. He hastily spritzed some cologne on before putting on the clean shirt, and walked into the shared bathroom to swap his glasses for contact lenses. After stuffing his feet into a pair of boots and grabbing a baseball cap, Liam grabbed his keys, wallet, and phone off his desk. Grabbing a jacket off the hooks on the door, he left with his best friend to play wingman.

\--- 

Liam could hear the party long before he could see it as they walked through the neighborhood. They walked through the front door and headed to the kitchen, weaving their way through coeds. While Drake beelined for a bottle of whiskey, Liam opted for beer. He wasn’t really in the mood to get drunk, and depending on Drake’s luck tonight, he’d either be helping him walk home to their dorm, or he’d need to be sober enough to crash with a friend.

They wandered through the house, stopping now and then to chat with people they knew. Drake’s eyes wandered as they walked around, searching for his “Scarlet Temptress” as he liked to call her. _Two beers and then I’m bailing, redhead sighting or not_. They ventured to the backyard, having had no luck seeing her inside. Liam had nearly finished his drink when Drake nudged him with his elbow.

“There she is,” he said, his eyes honing in like a laser. 

Liam looked in the direction of Drake’s gaze – the redhead was no doubt attractive. She was tall and slender, wearing a fitted red dress that hugged her curves.  Liam’s attention went to the girl Red was talking to – a petite girl with long blue-black hair that nearly fell to her waist. She was dressed casually compared to Red, in a dark pair of skinny jeans and a white top. Instead of wearing heels like most of the other ladies at the party, she had a pair of high top Chucks on her feet. “So, are you going to talk to Red or not?” 

“I can’t just charge over to her and start talking,” Drake answered. “At least I know she’s here. I could, uh… use a little more to drink.” They took a roundabout path back to the kitchen, where Drake knocked back a shot of whiskey before filling his glass with two fingers worth, his gaze still fixed on Red outside.

“You’re starting to give off stalker vibes, man,” Liam teased, grabbing a fresh bottle of beer from a cooler. He tilted his head back to take a swig of his drink, nearly spitting it out when Drake smacked his abdomen.

“Shut up,” he grumbled. “Like I said, waiting for my moment.” The redhead walked inside, joining two other girls in a room where everything had been cleared to make a dance floor. “Can you manage on your own for a while? I think I’m going in.”

Liam waved him off. “Good luck, Twinkle Toes.” Drake made his way over to Red, and Liam watched as they walked away from the others dancing to talk. Liam sighed and slowly wandered through the house again, nursing his beer. He wound up in a quieter part of the house where people were mostly talking in small groups, and settled into an empty spot on a couch.

He propped an ankle over his knee and people watched, observing their mannerisms and behavior. He meant it when he told Drake that he wasn’t in the mood to go out; the blonde he’d been seeing for the past month broke up with him abruptly over dinner, though for the life of him he couldn’t figure out why. Their chemistry was strong enough to hold a conversation, but it lacked the heat and passion – the immediate _attraction_ – that had the ability to push everything else away. 

She wanted to take things slow, so they’d done little more than make out. He’d spent the night with her a few times, but they would just kiss and hold each other, and even that seemed to lack intimacy. Part of him felt like she’d just used him for whatever she needed, simply because he liked her. Liam was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice someone take the seat next to him.

“Penny for your thoughts?” 

Liam turned his head and saw a pair of high top Chucks. The girl that knew Red was sitting next to him, and he turned up the corner of his mouth in a half smile. “Just people watching,” he replied, taking another sip of his drink. 

“You got dragged out tonight too, huh?” She flashed a grin at him and fiddled with her hair, pulling it up and twisting it into a loose bun.

“Something like that. I’m Liam.” He switched the beer bottle from his right to left hand, regretting that he’d be offering her a cold hand.

“Katrina,” she replied, turning to shake his hand. 

Something odd happened when they made contact; Liam felt the warmth from Katrina’s hand radiate into his, immediately feeling his pulse quicken. He pulled his hand back with a sheepish grin, noticing that there was a little more color in her cheeks. “So, uh, why did you get dragged out tonight?” 

“My friend felt sorry for me for wanting to stay in and watch a movie. Said I was wasting my college experience. What about you?” 

“Wingman duty, my friend was hoping to run into a girl he likes here. Redhead in one of his classes.” 

“Wait… is his name Drew? Dresden?” She bit her bottom lip, searching her brain for the right name. _Adorable._  

“Drake?”

“Yes!” Katrina smiled and slapped Liam’s knee playfully. “What kind of name is that anyway? Wait, you said he was your friend?”

“Roommate too, actually. How do _you_ know him?”

Katrina shifted to face Liam, resting her arm on the back of the sofa. As she tilted her head to look at him, her bun came loose, and her hair unfurled over her shoulder like ribbons of ink. Liam felt his breath catch in his throat. “My friend is the redhead. She was hoping to run into him but made me come with her so she wouldn’t show up alone. Guess they found each other if you’re sitting on your own too.” A mischievous smile spread across her face. _Okay, she’s pretty cute, even if she’s not making eye contact._

“Yeah, only time will tell how well it goes for him.” Liam was about to ask her what movie she had planned to watch, when Katrina tensed and cast her eyes to the ground. “Um…are you okay?”

“Motherfucker,” Katrina whispered under her breath. She glanced up at Liam – past Liam – for a millisecond, before looking down again. “Just great.” 

“What’s going on?” Liam’s brows knit together, wondering what made her mood change so fast.

“My ex just showed up,” she said quietly. “With his new girlfriend.” Katrina clenched her jaw, trying to look anywhere but in the direction of her ex.

“Where is he?”

“Um, your nine o’clock. In the obnoxious red polka dot shirt.”

“Red polka dots? Really?” Liam arched an eyebrow at her. 

“Don’t judge!” she said, cracking a hint of a smile.

Liam took a long sip from his beer, tilting his head back to look for Polka Dots out of the corner of his eye. He wasn’t hard to spot – the shirt was an eyesore. Polka Dots had his arm around a tall brunette. He turned back to Katrina, set his drink on a table, and propped his arm on the couch to face her. “Don’t pay attention to him, just look at me,” he suggested. “If he noticed you, he’s just going to try and get under your skin.”

Katrina looked up and tried to keep her eyes on Liam. His breath caught in his throat as he noticed her eyes for the first time. Her eyes were a striking blue-grey, like the color of the sky clearing after a heavy storm. He could tell that she was at least one quarter – maybe half – Asian from her almond eyes and facial features, but her eyes were stunning. He blinked several times and realized he’d been staring. “Are you…wearing contacts?”

“What?” It was Katrina’s turn to blink, and she broke eye contact. Her eyes landed on Liam’s mouth. “Yes, but umm…if you’re asking about the color, that’s just a lottery draw from the genetic pool, courtesy of my Dad.” She looked up and grinned, before cursing again. “Ugh…look, I know we just met and you have no idea who I am, but I need you to do me solid and **make out with me right now. I’ll pay you** whatever cash I have in my wallet.” 

“Excuse me?” 

“Yes or no?” She looked at him with pleading eyes. 

_God, her eyes are gorgeous. A pretty girl is asking you to kiss her, what the hell are you waiting for?_ Liam cupped her face with his hand, running his thumb across her bottom lip. “Live a little, right?” he whispered. He closed the distance between them and gently pressed his lips to hers. He felt a charge in the air around him as their lips touched; her lips were impossibly soft. His heart started racing in his chest as he kissed this stranger, and then she kissed him back. 

Liam’s hand moved back to tangle in her hair, pulling her close enough to smell her perfume – she smelled like jasmine and orange blossoms. Her kisses were light and nervous, but each time their lips connected it felt like full-fledged arcs of lightning passed between them. He ran the tip of his tongue across her bottom lip, begging entrance, and she parted her lips in a soft moan. His tongue found hers, and he felt her delicate hands slide his cap off, threading her fingers through his dark hair before settling at the back of his neck. It felt like everything around them melted away; it was just the two of them there, on the couch, kissing again and again. 

_I could kiss her forever._  

“Ah-hem,” a voice interrupted. 

The sound made Liam pull away faster than he intended. He and Katrina broke free from one another, though his hand was still buried in her hair. Her hands fell to his broad shoulders before she pulled away, looking breathless and flustered. Her lips were pink and swollen from kissing him, and he wanted nothing more than to latch onto her mouth again. Liam realized he was breathing heavy as well, and he turned to see Polka Dots standing before them as he patted the couch in search for his cap. 

“Kitty, who’s your new friend?” Polka Dots asked. The brunette with him looked bored.

_Ugh. Kitty? I hope she didn’t pick that nickname and he’s just an ass._

“John, Liam….Liam, this is John,” Katrina answered disdainfully.

“Good to see you getting back out there, Kitty,” John replied. “How did you two meet?” 

Katrina froze. She hadn’t thought that far ahead. “Funny story, actually,” Liam replied, wrapping his arm around Katrina’s shoulder; he gave her a reassuring squeeze. _Huh. This doesn’t feel as awkward as I thought it would._ “We met in the student bookstore when we both grabbed for the last supplemental reading packet for class.” 

“Oh really, what class would that be?” John asked, crossing his arms.

“Psychology,” Katrina and Liam answered simultaneously. He turned his head to look at her and smiled. “Same professor, different sections.”

“He offered to split the cost and share it, and we met up a few times to study,” she added, reaching over to squeeze Liam’s knee.

John’s face was approaching the same shade of his hideous shirt, but he remained silent. “How cute,” he smirked. “Well, I guess I’ll see you around. Let’s go, Ashley.” John draped his arm over the brunette and walked off. 

Katrina sighed with relief. “Thank you for that,” she said, looking over at Liam. Her cheeks were flushed an adorable shade of pink. “Good save with the bookstore bit!” She reached behind her and pulled out a small clutch. _Did she have that before?_ She opened it and pulled out her wallet, and her shoulders dropped. “Oh my god,” she muttered.

“What’s wrong? You don’t have to uh…pay me, honestly.” _In fact, I’d kiss you again for free._

“A deal’s a deal,” she answered, digging around the contents of her clutch, before she pulled out a felt tip pen. She looked off to the side, noticing someone in the other room, and pulled a $1 bill out of her wallet. She shrugged, looking up at Liam apologetically. “It’s all I had, sorry,” she said, scribbling something on the front of the bill. “My friend is out there waiting to go, but it was uhh…interesting meeting you tonight, Liam.” Katrina put her things back in her clutch, stood up, and handed Liam the bill in her hand.

She turned to leave, but Liam pulled her hand back. “Wait, you’re just going to leave? Just like that?” _Don’t let her go, moron._

Katrina turned back to him and smiled. He noticed the glint of mischief in her eyes, and she leaned down and kissed him. He felt the air being sucked out of his lungs as their lips touched, and felt her smiling as she pulled away. He reluctantly let go of her hand and she walked away from him. “Don’t spend that all in one place!” she called out over her shoulder, disappearing into the crowd of people in the other room. 

Liam sat there stunned for a moment, before realization hit him. “Wait!” He leapt up from the sofa and ran after her, but she’d disappeared in the throng of people.

“Dude, what the hell was _that_?” 

Liam turned to see Drake giving him a questioning look. “You saw the girl, right? Black hair, grey eyes, she left just now?” 

“Uhh, I dunno about the eyes bit, but I definitely saw you _kissing_ said girl on the couch a moment ago. You get her number or something?” 

Liam remembered the bill in his hand and opened it. He sighed with relief as he saw Katrina’s number written in marker. “Her name is Katrina, and she’s friends with Red – she knew who you were.” 

“She knows Olivia? Huh, okay.” Drake clapped his hand on Liam’s shoulder. “Aren’t you glad I dragged you out tonight?”

Liam smiled. “It might be the best thing you’ve ever done for me, Drake.”


	2. Hyperion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam takes the next step with the mysterious girl he met and kissed at a party.

Liam flipped the glossy dollar bill over in his hands, his eyes scanning over the ten digits scribbled on the back. Six days had passed since his encounter with the mysterious girl that he met – and kissed – at a house party. One hundred forty-one hours since he’d looked into her stormy grey eyes and smelled the intoxicating floral perfume on her neck. Eight thousand four hundred and sixty some odd minutes had passed after locking lips with a complete stranger on a whim, only to feel like the world dissolved all around them for the brief moment that their lips touched over and over again.

He shook his head, unsure of what made him think that laminating the dollar she’d given him was a good idea. He texted her Sunday afternoon – too soon, according to Drake – just to say hello, so that she’d have his number. What Drake didn’t know was that Liam had tapped out messages and deleted them since Saturday morning, and the text he sent was accidental. It was odd when he saw the little mail icon appear on the screen within seconds, and his heart dropped into his gut when he read “ **Liam who?** ” – only to be followed by a wink and “ **I was wondering if I’d hear from you** ” – before his heart jumped back into place in his chest, beating a little faster.

They spent the week texting each other in a never-ending game of 20 Questions. He’d text her something like “ **coffee or tea** ” after his morning run, with her reply arriving mid-afternoon as an amusing “ **ALWAYS/sometimes Earl Grey**.” He never seemed to catch sight of her on campus as he walked to class or the dining hall.

Drake assured him that she did in fact exist, once he saw Olivia in class on Wednesday.  _She lives in one of the dorms at the far end of campus and takes late afternoon and evening classes because she’s an insomniac. She has a class in Monroe Hall Thursdays at 6 PM._ That was all the kindling Liam needed before initiating the next round of 20 Questions. He pulled up their text conversation, having named her Trina in his contacts.

 

> LIAM: drinks tonight? coffee or beer?
> 
> TRINA: that was two questions ;)
> 
> LIAM: ...
> 
> TRINA: I have class tonight, Hyperion Bar at 8?
> 
> LIAM: I'll see you then

 

After going for a run to calm his nerves, Liam showered and dressed for his not-quite-a-date with Katrina. He slipped into a pair of dark jeans and pulled a white undershirt over his head, hanging a green button down shirt on the back of his closet door. Drake walked in as he was putting on a pair of boots, raising a curious eyebrow as Liam finished getting dressed. “Where are you headed?”

“I have a—” Liam stopped short.  _Not a date, we never said it was a date_. “I’m meeting up with Katrina after her class.”

A smug grin spread across Drake’s face. “A date?”

“Just one drink, maybe some pool,” Liam answered, pulling the green shirt off its hanger. “Never actually said it was a date.”

“But you’re seeing her in the evening…over drinks, while enjoying an activity together, and it just happens to be around dinnertime,” Drake teased.

“Shut. Up.” Liam rolled up his shirt sleeves a few times and tucked the hem of the shirt into his pants.

“Dude, did she or did she not ask you to make out just minutes after meeting each other?”

The back of Liam’s neck felt hot as he replayed kissing Katrina that night for the hundredth time since it happened. He scratched his neck before slipping his wallet in a back pocket and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to ignore his friend staring at him with the smug look across his face. “That was…she saw her ex at the party and thought that would help, somehow,” he chuckled. “I wasn’t going to argue with her.” Satisfied with the haphazardly roguish look of his hair, he wiped his hands clean on the towel hanging at the foot of his bed frame before slipping his phone and keys into his pockets. He pulled a grey hoodie from his closet and made his way to the door.

“Heh. For your sake I hope her ex shows up wherever you’re  _just meeting her on your not-date_  tonight,” Drake replied, before falling into his own bed.

Liam smirked and picked up the basketball near the door, chucking it at Drake with more force than necessary. “Have a good night,  _brother_ ,” he said over his shoulder.

—

Liam arrived at Hyperion a few minutes before 8 and walked through the door, quickly scanning the crowd for Katrina. He saw a dainty hand high in the air towards the back. Craning his neck slightly, a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he recognized her, already racking up balls on one of the pool tables. He shrugged off his hoodie as he walked across the small dance floor in front of the stage, smiling as he stood before Katrina. “Would’ve waited at the door, but a table opened up right when I got here,” she said, rubbing chalk on the end of a cue. “Hope you play.”

“You’re on,” he replied, tossing his hoodie on a nearby stool. “Should I order a pitcher to start?” He motioned at the bar with his thumbs.

Katrina bit her bottom lip –  _god that’s cute_  – and cast her eyes at the bar. “Could you order a Granny Smith cider for me? We’ll settle up after we play.”

Liam nodded and walked over to the bar to order their drinks. He leaned against the fixture as he waited, casting a glance over at Katrina. She’d worn a pair of form fitting jeans and a charcoal grey sweater that seemed to bring out her eyes, even from their current distance. He paid for the drinks – making sure to leave the twist-off cap on Katrina’s cider – and noticed one of the football players approach the pool table. Narrowing his eyes, Liam watched as the muscled blonde stood too close to Katrina, the young man’s eyes darting up and down her figure. Liam gripped the handle of the pitcher tightly in his hand and his jaw clenched. The interloper traced one side of her face with a curled finger, and Liam wanted to drop what was in his hands and rush over to her.

He smirked with pleasure as Katrina pressed the pool cue directly into the blonde’s throat, making him gag in response. Liam strode over as quickly as he could without spilling the contents of the pitcher, setting everything on a table against the wall as the blonde held his hands up and took a step back. The two young men stared at each other, Liam’s eyes narrowing into dark slits;  _Connor Matthews_. He was notorious for hitting on girls whether they gave him their attention or not. Connor looked back at him with an arrogant smile. “Rys, good game last week. You actually managed to score a few points there…shorty.”

Liam took a deep breath, rolled his shoulders back, and tilted his neck until it cracked. “Matthews,” he said, stepping in front of Katrina, “I don’t think your company is welcome here.”

“I don’t recall you being a part of my conversation with…what’d John like to call you?  _Kitty_. He always said you were easy…on the eyes.”

Liam’s jaw twitched again and he stood his ground. “I’d stop talking if I were you,” he warned, his voice low in his throat. Liam could feel blood pulsing through the veins in his neck as his hands curled into fists. “She’s with me.”

Matthews arched his brow at Liam. “Is that so?” He leaned over to look at Katrina standing behind him, her hands on her hips as she glared back. “Why slum it with a point guard when you could party with me, Kitty?” He raised his hand as if he was going to grab Katrina’s hand.

Liam pushed Matthews’ hand away and leaned to block his view. “That’s enough, Matthews,” Liam growled through his teeth.  _You’re insulting her and taking a dig at me, and you think that’s going to sway her?_  He felt Katrina’s hand wrap around his wrist, tugging lightly at his arm.

“It’s okay, Liam,” she said. Liam shifted his weight to the right and in one swift motion, Katrina tossed the pitcher of beer directly into Matthews’ face, soaking him from head to toe. “You and John and anyone else in your group aren’t going to say another word to me and my friend…or I’ll follow through and meet with Dean Wilson.”

Matthews lunged forward, seething “You bitch” through his teeth.

Liam grabbed hold of his shoulders and pushed him back. “Back away, man. Just back away,” he warned, pressing his feet into the ground. A pair of barbacks rushed over after seeing the commotion.

“What the hell’s going on here?” The barbacks hooked their arms around Matthews to restrain him.

“It was a misunderstanding,” Liam replied. “The lady and I were just leaving.” Liam took out his wallet and left a few bills on the pool table. “Sorry for the mess.” He turned to grab his hoodie, but Katrina was already clutching it in her arms, along with a messenger bag strapped across her chest. He held his hand out to her, and she grabbed hold of it.  They walked out of the bar as the men held on to Matthews to calm him down, and Liam grabbed a coaster as he passed an empty table, slipping it into his back pocket.

—

Outside the building, Katrina walked quickly back to campus in silence. Being a foot taller than her, Liam’s long legs easily kept up with her pace.  “Hey,” he said gently, tugging on her hand. “Are you okay? What was that back there?”

Katrina sighed and she pulled her hand away from Liam, fidgeting with her hair as they continued walking. She piled her long raven locks into a ponytail and twisted it into a messy bun, securing it with a hair tie around her wrist. “I…” she began, before closing her mouth. “John, my ex, he…” she paused, kicking against the pavement. Her gaze fell to her feet, and Liam could hear her breath catch in her throat. She sniffed loudly, confirming his guess that she’d begun to cry.

“Hey,” he said softly. He wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her, but he gently grasped her shoulder instead. Trying to look into her eyes, he spoke again. “Did he…hurt you?”

Katrina’s bottom lip quivered and she darted her eyes away from Liam, even though she wasn’t looking at him. “I’m sorry…I can’t…” she said, her voice small.

“I’m going to hug you now, if that’s okay,” he replied. She nodded, wiping tears away with the back of her hand. Liam stepped closer to Katrina, so that their toes touched. They stood in the middle of the quiet sidewalk, and he wrapped his arms around her small frame, pressing her close to his chest. He only relished in a small twinge of pleasure when she put her arms around his torso. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” he said, resting his chin on the top of her head, “and I know you hardly know me, but I’ll listen, if you ever want to talk about it.”

Liam was no stranger to the rumors whispered across campus about the frat houses and some of the athletic teams – namely football and rugby, though the baseball team was almost as bad. Girls would throw themselves at the players, and they took advantage of that at parties. It was inexcusable behavior to Liam, but Drake reminded him that they were cut from a different cloth than most of the guys they went to school with. A consensual hookup was one thing, but waiting until someone was on the edge of blacking out, or slipping something in their drink – it was one of the reasons he never liked going to parties and kept caps on bottles when offering someone a drink.

“Thank you Liam,” she replied, mumbling into his shirt. He felt her arms tighten around him for a second before she pulled back, and he let go of her.  _I like the way we fit together._  “I might take you up on that offer some day.” Katrina licked her lips and wiped more tears from her face, taking a deep breath to calm down.

“I will drop whatever I’m doing, whenever you’re ready to talk.”  _I promise_.

Katrina quirked one side of her mouth into a grin. “What if I called you while you were in the middle of a game or something?”

Liam chuckled. “Well, as soon as I could see that you called, I’d go to you. Even if it meant leaving the game.” He puckered his lips slightly and knit his brows together. “How do you know I’m on a team?”

“Dude, look at you,” she answered, finally casting her eyes up to meet his. Even though they were red-rimmed from crying, her eyes sparkled under the streetlamp. “Besides, Liv tipped me off about you when we left the party last week.”

“Figured as much.” He smiled and offered his arm to her. “Sorry the night didn’t quite work out. Can I at least walk you back home?”

Katrina finally cracked a giggle; it was the best sound Liam had heard all evening. “I, um…okay,” she replied, looping her hand to rest on the inside of his elbow. They resumed their walk back to campus. “Thank you, by the way…for trying to get Connor to back off.”

Liam let out a tense sigh. “He’s an asshole, and he was out of line with you. He shouldn’t have said what he did.” Katrina didn’t respond, but he felt her squeeze his arm in agreement.

Katrina changed the topic to something lighter as they walked back to campus, her hand steady on Liam’s arm the whole way back. She smiled to herself when he insisted on walking her all the way back to her room, instead of parting ways in front of her building. “Are you trying to find out my room number?” she teased.

“I’m a man of my word, dear lady,” Liam joked, bowing at the waist. “I said I’d walk you back home, and you’re not quite home yet.”

Katrina rolled her eyes, waving her ID in front of the card reader until it made a clicking noise, and opened the door. “Come on then,” she said, gesturing for him to follow. Liam followed her into the building, up the stairwell and through a hallway, until she reached her room on the fourth floor. She turned to face him, her back against the door. “You have officially walked me home safely,” she said, handing over his hoodie.

Liam flung the hoodie over one shoulder, clasping his hands behind his back. He didn’t want the night to end, but didn’t want to invite himself into her room either.  _You should have suggested going somewhere else to eat, idiot_.

Katrina pulled a slim wallet from her back pocket, unfolding a few bills. “What do I owe you for the drinks that we never got to drink?”

Liam reached out and put his hand over hers, curling her fingers shut. “Call it an IOU for the future,” he said, taking a half step towards her. She lowered her gaze before looking back up at him, trying to resist the smile that was spreading across her face.

“You want to hang out again? After tonight’s scene?”

He gently moved his hand from hers to tuck a few strands of hair behind her ear. “Yes, if that’s okay with you.” She leaned back against the door as his hand splayed across the wood, just behind her ear. He leaned in slightly – not enough to trap her against the door, but enough to imply that he might kiss her again, if she let him.

Katrina bit her bottom lip again, looking up at him through her lashes. If he hadn’t been looking down at her already, he would have missed seeing her hips arch in his direction ever so slightly. “I’d like that, Liam,” she replied.  _God, the way she says my name._  He leaned in closer to kiss her, before he felt the door give way against his hand. “What th—” Katrina’s eyes opened wide, and she fell backwards as the door opened.

Liam stepped forward, instinctively wrapping his arms behind her to catch her, and put his weight on his bent leg. “Oh! Sorry!” He looked up to see a brunette in running gear, pulling earbuds from her ears. “I didn’t know you were back from your date so soon, Kat!”

_Date? She thought it was a date. She thought it was a date!_

Liam pulled Katrina up, grinning at her and her roommate. “Lis, shhh!” Katrina hissed. She nervously brushed off her clothes and adjusted the weight of her messenger bag. “Liam, this is my roommate Lisette, er…Lis,” she said, gesturing at the girl standing in the doorway. “Lis, this is Liam.”

“Nice to meet you.” Liam smiled and extended his hand.

“Hot. Uh…Hi! I mean hi!” Lisette covered her mouth with her hand as Liam smiled even wider, and she shook his hand quickly. “Don’t mind me, just going to the gym! Okay bye kids!” She scurried down the hall, leaving Liam and Katrina alone in front of her room again.

“Never a dull moment with you,” Liam mused. Katrina smiled sheepishly at him. “So, you told your roommate you were going out on a date?”

“What? No! She – I…she came to that conclusion on her own!” Katrina’s cheeks started to turn a bright shade of pink.

Liam grinned at how easy it was to fluster Katrina. “It’s okay,” he assured her. “When I ask you out on a date, you’ll know it’s a date.”

“I…what?”

“You’ll know when it’s a date when I ask ‘will you go on a date with me’.” He looked down at her adorably confused face, lost somewhere between pure confusion and joy. “Tonight’s not that night though. I want to know what makes you tick, Katrina…Bailey,” he added, looking at the colorful sign on the door that displayed her name. “I promise you that I will ask you to go on a date with me in the future…and I keep all my promises.” He took hold of her hand in his, drawing it to his lips, and placed a gentle kiss across her knuckles before letting go. “Night!” He smiled and walked down the hall and through one of the hallway doors, leaving Katrina dumbstruck in the hallway.

Once on the other side of the door, Liam leaned against the wall to catch his breath.  _She thought it was a date. She thought it was a date_. He heard Katrina’s voice on the other side of the door as she talked to herself – “What. Just. HAPPENED.” – before hearing a door open and close, and he laughed to himself.  _My thoughts exactly._


	3. Hey Cheerleader, Give It A Try

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam and Katrina settle into a comfortable rhythm as friends.

In the weeks following Liam and Katrina’s non-date at the bar, they found more ways to make time for each other in their schedules. She started calling him at 5:30 in the morning to wake him up for his morning run – Drake was extremely thankful for this change – since she never slept at night. Her voice was the first thing Liam heard in the morning, and his was the last voice she heard before drifting off to sleep for a few hours.

Katrina told him where she worked – a little coffee and juice shop in SoHo – and Liam soon found himself planning afternoon running routes in her neighborhood, stopping in to say hello, conveniently ending his run near the end of her shifts. She’d have a decaf drink or recovery smoothie ready for him and they’d walk back to campus together. It was during those walks that they got to know one another, sharing little snapshots of who they were before arriving in New York.

Liam was from a small town in Michigan; he chose New York for the athletic scholarship, but with each passing basketball season he felt his chances of being recruited becoming less likely. He had an older brother, Leo, who dropped out of college to “find himself” on some sort of backpacking trip through Europe. Leo’s year abroad turned into several years, picking up odd jobs to save up enough money to keep traveling. Liam felt like everything rested on his shoulders to finish school and find a good job to look after his parents, even though they told him to focus on what made him happy.

Katrina grew up in Boston with her younger sister Josephine, along with her father. Her parents divorced when she was 8 or 9; her mother moved to the West Coast and essentially forgot about her and Josie so she could start a new family with another man. Katrina didn’t seem to care, telling Liam that her father filled the single parent role with ease, making sure that she and Josie always had enough. He went to every soccer game and music recital for them, every theater performance and track meet, and even attended football games to watch Katrina cheer.

“You were a cheerleader?” he asked, arching his brow at her with a flirty grin. They were walking across West Houston Street, headed north back to campus. “I’m going to need proof of that.”

She smiled and kept her eyes trained forward as they crossed the street. “Not here.”

“Come on, not even a chant?” He nudged her with his elbow.

“Not even if you belted out a show tune,  _Kenickie_ ,” she teased.

“I told you about that in confidence!” He pulled the hair clip out of Katrina’s hair, causing her long obsidian locks to flow down past her shoulders. Liam started jogging backwards ahead of her.

“Hey!” she shouted, giving chase. He flashed her a smile before he turned around and took off in a sprint, Katrina running after him as fast as she could. They both dodged past people on the sidewalk, Liam waiting for her at the end of the block having hardly broken a sweat. Katrina was pink in the face, huffing short bursts of air with her hands on her knees. “You know I hate running,” she panted. “Josie’s the track star. I’m the peppy drama nerd.”

“Prove it, let’s see a high kick. Herkie. Back tuck. Something,” Liam smiled at her, dangling the hair clip out of reach.

“How do you even know those terms?!” She jumped again, her fingers grazing the edge of the clip as Liam taunted her.

“I was friends with cheerleaders at my school, they cheered at the basketball games too.” He laughed at Katrina’s futile efforts to grab the clip. “Might have been persuaded to do a routine or two for pep rallies,” he added, with a wink.

“Whoa whoa whoa, I’m gonna need to see proof of THAT,” she mocked, waving her hands at him. “Also, I refuse to risk touching the street with my hands if I don’t stick a landing.” Liam pouted slightly, letting his arm drop a few inches. She took that as an opportunity to jump for the clip again, just as someone hurriedly bumped past her on the sidewalk, knocking her into Liam.

“Whoa!” He grabbed hold of her shoulders as he tried to steady himself, but the inertia of Katrina moving into him was too much, and he winced as his back slammed into the crosswalk post. Her forearms landed squarely on his chest as she tried to block her fall.

“Are you okay?” Katrina regained her footing, pulling Liam away from the post.

“Yeah…that was unpleasant.” He rubbed at a spot on his back after handing Katrina her hairclip. They crossed the street as she twisted her hair up once again. “Surely my injury is worthy of seeing a pike-out now, right?”

“You don’t know when to quit, do you?”

“Nope. You like it, admit it.”

“Persistent.”

“Yes, yes I am.” He looked over as she smiled at him. A few minutes later they arrived at Liam’s dorm, and he held the door open for her to walk in. It had become another one of their routines; if Katrina didn’t have night class or a night shift, she’d have dinner with Liam and they’d hang out in his room. Sometimes they’d watch a movie, but most nights they’d study together, and he’d walk her to her dorm on the other end of campus so she wouldn’t have to walk alone.

The only issue Katrina had was that none of these nights together counted as dates, even though they started to feel like  _something very close to dates_  in her mind. They spent time together in the evening – check. They shared a meal, even if it meant picking up random food at a bodega or something from the dining hall – check. They watched a movie or got lost in long conversations – double check. He’d walk her back to her dorm – check. All of these things happened, but he’d never laid a hand on her other than when he’d try to keep her from falling. While neither of them had any problem flirting, Liam hadn’t tried to kiss her since the first night he walked her back from Hyperion, and it was killing her to know when he was going to ask her out. He  _made a promise_ , after all.

Once inside Liam’s room, they both slipped off their shoes near the door and pulled items from their respective bags. Katrina pulled Banh mi sandwiches from her bag, along with a container of seaweed salad for Liam, and edamame for herself. Liam pulled Nalgene bottles from his backpack, filled with iced coffee for Katrina and coconut drink for himself. He dangled her bottle of coffee as she started to settle on the floor. “If you want your liquid crack tonight, the fee is one cheer with a fancy kick,” he said, grinning down at her.

“I  **made**  the damn drinks, Liam.” She glared up at him. “Besides, I can’t kick in skinny jeans. I’d risk busting a seam.”

“You can borrow a pair of my sweats.”

“I’ll drown in a pair of your sweats, Tall Man.”

Liam rolled his eyes. “A pair of my shorts, then. I want to see you cheer.” He walked over to his closet and set her drink on the tallest shelf, knowing she’d need a chair to reach it on her own. Leaving the closet door open, he walked over to a dresser and pulled a pair of shorts from a drawer, tossing them in her direction.

“I hate you sometimes,” she muttered, making a face at him.

“I’ll be in the hall when you’re ready.” He stepped out of the room to let her change in private, keeping the door cracked open. “And don’t think I won’t hear if you try to move a chair to get to your drink either!” he called into the room.

“SHUT. UP. LIAM!” After a minute, the door swung open, and Liam tucked his lips between his teeth, admiring how adorable and ridiculous Katrina looked wearing a pair of his basketball shorts. She was swimming in them, even after tightening the waistband and rolling it several times over so it bulged under her fitted t-shirt. “Not a word,” she warned, pointing a finger at him. He smiled and held his hands up defensively as she stepped into the hallway. Liam leaned against the frame of the open door, crossing his arms across his chest, as Katrina walked several feet away. She closed her eyes before sighing heavily, suddenly clasping her hands together, and looked up at Liam with an enthusiastic smile.

C’mon Knights, let us hear, let us hear that sound, that sound we love  
I’m sayin SWISHHHHH SWISHHHHH  
Let us see, let us see, two points, two points on the board  
I’m sayin SWISHHHHH SWISHHHHH

Liam watched as Katrina clapped and punched the air with both fists as she cheered, his eyes moving directly to her hips as she chanted “swish swish” when she turned and sashayed in place. After the second “swish swish” she straightened up, nodded her head, and took a running start before executing a perfect aerial cartwheel. He beamed a smile at her and clapped as several other residents clapped and cheered, having heard the commotion in the hallway. Katrina’s face turned beet red as she laughed and ran back into Liam’s room, and he followed.

“That was the best thing I’ve seen all week,” he said, sitting on the edge of his bed. “I knew you didn’t just cheer at football games!”

“I never said I didn’t – we did more tricks at the football games, so that’s when my Dad would come see me cheer.”

“I can step back outside to let you change into your clothes again.”  _Even if you look adorable wearing my clothes._

Katrina bit her bottom lip, glancing over at the dresser drawer. “Actually, would you mind if I borrowed a pair of sweats?”

Liam grinned and walked over to his dresser again, pulling a fitted pair of dark grey sweatpants from another drawer. “These should fit you a little better,” he said, handing the pants over to her as he made his way to the door again and stepped outside. This time he made sure to close the door all the way.

After a moment, the door clicked open and Katrina smiled up at him. He had a close-lipped smile as he stepped back into the room, noticing that she’d cuffed the sweatpants several times to fit her shorter frame. They walked over to the makeshift picnic on the rug, and Liam retrieved the bottle of coffee from his closet, handing it over to Katrina as he sat next to her and flipped his laptop open to log in to Netflix. She unscrewed the cap and took a long sip of her drink, letting out a little moan of pleasure that made him swallow hard. “Nectar of the gods,” she said to herself.

“You’re going to be up all night drinking that.” He clicked on the next episode of The Last Kingdom to resume the series they’d both agreed to watch.

“And that’s different from any other night how?”

“I’m curious…have you always been a night owl?” They unwrapped their sandwiches and Liam opened the container of salad, using a pair of chopsticks to eat.

Katrina held an edamame pod between her teeth, pulling it through so the beans stayed in her mouth. “Umm…I guess, sort of,” she replied. “More so since I started college and could make my own schedule.” Liam didn’t miss the way Katrina’s jaw tensed at his question, or the way she paused to answer. “Besides,” she continued, “if I wasn’t a night owl I couldn’t be your personal wake-up service.” She tilted her head to grin at him, offering him one of the bright green pods.

He took it from her hand and bit the pod between his teeth, pulling it out so the beans popped from the shell. “Drake really appreciates that, by the way,” he said after chewing and swallowing. “He’s stopped throwing random objects in my general direction since I don’t have to set an alarm.” Katrina made a noise between an exhale and a snort before coughing. Liam held up a portion of his dish in front of her and she shook her head. “Try it, just once?” he asked.

“It’s… _seaweed_.” She crinkled her nose at him, her eyes darting between Liam’s expression and the laptop screen, trying to follow along with the show.

“One bite, and I promise I won’t ask you to eat it again if you don’t like it.”

“You and your  _promises_ ,” Katrina said, narrowing her eyes at him.

_I know what you’re getting at_. Liam winked in response, holding the seaweed-laden sticks up at her once more. “I  _promise_.”

Katrina sighed and begrudgingly pointed her chin at him. He held the chopsticks close to her lips and she opened her mouth as he fed her, her lips closing around the chopsticks as he pulled them back. Her eyes closed as she started to chew, her brow furrowing as she tried to make sense of the texture and flavor of what she was eating. Liam watched intently as her eyebrows relaxed and then she looked surprised, a hint of a smile playing across her pouty, petal pink lips. She swallowed and let out a quiet “oh!” before opening her eyes again.

Liam smirked at her response. “Verdict?”

Katrina pursed her lips as she stared into Liam’s dark eyes. “Hated it. Awful.” He arched his brow at her as she tried not to smile. “May I have more?”

Liam let out a deep, heartfelt laugh, holding up the container and chopsticks. “They only gave us one set of chopsticks, but help yourself.” She took the chopsticks from him to pick up another mouthful of seaweed, and slid the container of edamame between them. They watched the rest of the episode in relative silence as they ate their food.

Once the episode finished, they cleaned up the wrappings from their meal, and Liam pocketed the chopsticks when she wasn’t looking, dropping them in his desk drawer when she went to use the bathroom. He sat across the top of his bed, wedging a pillow between his back and the wall, and pulled books off the shelf to work on a set of economics problems for class. He queued up an instrumental playlist on his laptop for background noise, handing her the other pillow on his bed when she returned to the room. She sat at the foot of the bed, sandwiching the pillow between her back and the wall, and pulled one of her language books from her bag.

They studied in comfortable silence for a while, with the occasional sound of ruffling pages as he flipped through his textbook, or Katrina’s soft mumbling as she read passages to herself in Spanish. He’d been focused on a set of problems, sighing as he rubbed his eyes, when he noticed that Katrina was staring blankly at the opposite wall. “You okay over there? Do you need to head back to your dorm?”

Katrina kept her eyes focused on a spot on the wall. “I think I’m ready to tell you what happened.”


	4. Her Secret, His Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katrina confides in Liam and wonders how he’ll look at her once he knows her secret. TRIGGER WARNING: this chapter will include discussion of nonconsensual relations/rape

Liam closed his textbook and sat upright, his chest suddenly tight at her statement. “Okay.”  _This is big. This is happening. Whatever she tells you, it’s not about you. Be there for her._

“I need you to promise me that what I tell you never leaves this room.”

“I—” Liam paused. He had a feeling that whatever Katrina was about to tell him would most certainly make him want to tell someone else, and that was why she worded her statement the way she did. “I promise you…not another soul.” He glanced at the clock screensaver on his laptop; it was early enough that Drake was probably still studying at the library, but he had no idea how long the conversation with Katrina would run. “Let me just text Drake and tell him not to rush back, so you can have all the time you need.” Liam took his phone out of his pocket and fired a few texts back and forth, his eyes on Katrina as she hugged the pillow to her chest. He placed the phone on his desk. “Done. What do you need? What can I do?”

“Umm…this is gonna sound weird, but I don’t think I can handle you looking at me when I tell you.” Liam’s heart ached at her response, noticing the tears that were already forming near her lashline. Her bottom lip trembled, and she tucked it between her teeth.

Liam got up from his bed and walked over to a bookshelf near Drake’s side of the room, shuffling a few objects around until he found what he was looking for. He set three pillar candles on the dresser, flipping switches in the back so the tiny lights flickered like candlelight. “Will these work?” Katrina nodded, and he turned off the ceiling light. The room was cast in darkness except for the soft amber glow in the middle of the room. “Should I umm… face a wall or something? Where can I sit so you’re comfortable?”

“Can we lay in the bed? Just…stare at the ceiling?”

“If that’s what you want, sure.” He sat on the edge of the bed, scooting back to take the side against the wall, and Katrina shifted around so she was next to him on top of the covers. Liam awkwardly bent his left arm so his hand rested under his head. “I’ll do my best not to look at you.” Keeping his face pointed to the ceiling, he darted his eyes over to her, catching the profile of her face in his peripheral vision.

“Promise me you won’t.”

“Now you’re just using it against me.” He tried to focus on an invisible spot on the ceiling and tapped his thumb against his thigh.

Katrina inched her hand over to find his, lacing her delicate fingers between his. “Please, Liam.” The way she pleaded and said his name made Liam’s heart skip a beat.  _This is…different._  Touching one another wasn’t new – they often came into contact with one another when Katrina would occasionally trip over her feet, or their fingers would touch when she’d hand him drinks at the coffee shop. Aside from hugging her the night of their not-quite-a-date a week after their first kiss, holding hands in that moment felt extremely intimate. Her hand felt warm in his, and Liam hoped that his nerves wouldn’t betray him by making his palm sweat.

He closed his eyes and exhaled with defeat. “I promise I won’t look at you, Trina. But whatever you’re about to tell me won’t change the fact that I’m your friend, and I’ll be your friend after.” He squeezed her hand for reassurance.

“Did…did you just call me Trina?”

Liam’s eyes opened and he stared at the ceiling, realizing what he’d said.  _Shit. Shit shit shit._  That was the nickname he’d only called her in his head, after meeting her at the party. He hated the way her ex called her  _Kitty._  “I…yes?” he stammered. “I hope that’s okay, I didn’t want to call you that other nickname, and Kat doesn’t feel like it totally suits you.”

“I don’t think anyone’s called me Trina before,” she mused.  

“Oh, I didn’t mean to—”

“I like it,” she said, squeezing his hand.

Liam smiled as he kept his eyes on the ceiling, even though all he wanted to do was turn his head to look at her. “So…whenever you’re ready. I won’t say anything unless you want me to, just umm…tap me with your foot or something.”

Katrina took a deep breath, and then another. “John and I dated my freshman year. I thought he was so cool because he was a sophomore and he paid attention to me, because I’d never had a real boyfriend before,” she began. “He was nice to me at first, we had a lot of fun together. Then he started hanging out with some of the guys on the football team…Connor Matthews, Steve Reynolds, Greg Harper…and things changed. Our dates turned into hanging out with those guys from the team, or going to frat parties. It wasn’t my scene at all, but I went because John had fun there. Then one night…” her voice caught in her throat, and she tried to swallow the discomfort away. “We went to a frat party—” Katrina’s voice broke at the last word, and Liam felt her squeeze his hand tight. He squeezed her hand back, willing himself not to look at her.

“John slipped something in my drink,” she whispered. The mattress shook as Katrina started to cry, and it took every ounce of strength Liam had not to reach over to her. All he could do was squeeze her hand and press his arm against hers as he bit his tongue. “I was fine until suddenly I wasn’t…and I felt dizzy and sick. He took me into one of the bedrooms to rest…only…only…” Liam felt Katrina’s shoulders shudder again, and he clenched his jaw. “I knew something bad was going to happen when he left the room, and it took all my energy to get my phone from my purse…I opened a voice recording app and let it run until the battery died.” Katrina sniffled next to him. All he could see was red; all he could feel was rage at the sick bastards still walking upright. His heartbeat thundered in his chest and in his ears; there was an aching sensation in his gut, his heart – everywhere – thinking and trying not to think, about what she went through that night. She tapped his foot so lightly that he thought he imagined it, but she touched him again.

“Did they all…?” he asked, unable to complete the thought out loud. He moved the hand resting under his head and drew it across his mouth, settling it on his stomach and crumpling the fabric of his shirt.

“I vaguely remember the others kissing me and grabbing at me,” Katrina whispered. Liam’s free hand fell to his side and balled up into a fist. “They took photos, I kept telling them to stop.” He dug his nails into the palm of his hand. “They were still in the room, when John…he…” She sobbed silently next to him, her whole body shuddering, and he swallowed the rock that had lodged itself in his throat.

“That ASSHOLE. In front of them,” he seethed. She squeezed his hand. “Trina…” he said, his voice shifting to a softer tone. “I…” He wanted to apologize to her, though he’d done nothing wrong.  _Will she be upset if I try to apologize on behalf of scum-sucking assholes like that?_  “Forgive me for asking, but if you have a recording, did you file a report? They can be expelled for what they did. Arrested if you were to press charges.”  _You poor, sweet angel. Why couldn’t I have met you sooner?_

“They threatened to blackmail me and blast the photos everywhere if I said anything to anyone. I… can’t risk my family seeing something like that.”

“Do they know you have a recording of what they did to you? Did they say anyone’s name in the recording?”

“No, and yes.”

“You can turn that in and ask to remain anonymous.” Liam rubbed his face with his hand again. “Trina…is this why you don’t sleep at night?”

She gripped his hand tight, their knuckles pressed together so hard it made Liam’s hand hurt, but he refused to pull away. “It’s stupid, right? It happened so long ago, but every time I close my eyes at night, it’s all I can see.”

“It’s not stupid at all. You went through something traumatic, and what’s worse is that someone you trusted put you through that. God, I thought your ex was a jerk before, now…”

“Now what?”

“I can’t guarantee that I won’t deck him if we cross paths again,” Liam replied.  “Nobody should do that to someone they care about.”

“I guess I wasn’t worth caring about,” Katrina said, bitterness on her tongue.

_Yes you are_. “Am I allowed to look at you yet?”

“Ugh, after I’ve been crying?” Katrina pulled her hand away from Liam in an effort to wipe away the tears that had streaked down the corners of her eyes.

Liam used his left hand to reach over to her, feeling for her hand, and used the pad of his thumb to brush away a damp patch of skin near her temple. “It doesn’t bother me that you’ve been crying. But I need to look at you when I say what I have to say next.”

Katrina sniffled to clear her nose, taking in a deep breath at Liam’s candidness. Aside from his stupid cute dimpled grin, his honest nature was one of her favorite things about him. He was annoyingly coy, but never dishonest. She liked the way he’d playfully flirt with her without being too cocky. He was always trying to get her to try new things, just like trying the salad earlier, somehow knowing that she would like it.

She’d dated a couple of guys since John, but it always ended the same way; the guy would become frustrated if she wanted to take things slow, or they’d grow bored with her, so eventually she stopped trying to date anyone. The fact that she took late classes and spent most of her free time working left little time for a social or dating life, until Olivia dragged her to the party where she met Liam.

She felt like her walls weren’t the stone strongholds she’d built around herself over the past two years when she was around Liam; they were like canvas backdrops giving off the illusion of protection, and he was finding the seams between the partitions, getting a peek at who she used to be – who she could possibly be again. It was easy, being around him. “Fine,” she sighed.

She kept her eyes to the ceiling but felt Liam shift position next to her so that he was probably propping himself up with one arm, laying on his side. She averted her eyes down towards his legs and saw that she was right. “Trina…” She bit her tongue as Liam called her by her nickname and the comforting way it rolled off his lips.

“You said you needed to look at me, nothing about me looking at you.”

Liam gently placed two fingers on her chin and tilted her face in his direction. She kept her eyes down, staring at his Adam’s apple. “Trina, please, look at me.” Her heart fluttered as he repeated her nickname again, his voice low and warm. She finally looked up to meet his eyes, darker than usual in the dimly lit room. Liam’s forehead wrinkled as he looked at her. It wasn’t a look of pity, which was what she expected, his kind, espresso eyes full of concern. “He didn’t deserve you. You’re too good for a jerk like that. I’m sorry you had to live through something as horrible as that, and I want you to know that I’m not going anywhere…and it doesn’t change the way I think of you.”

“You mean that?”

“Every syllable.”

A wistful smile darted across her face for a second. “So how  _do_ you think of me?” she teased.

Liam shook his head.  _Of course she’d pick up on that bit._  “You know what I think of you,” he replied, his voice calm and even.

“Actually, no I don’t. You’ve implied that you want to ask me out, but you haven’t done that…even though we’ve been spending a lot of time together.”

“I still intend to ask you out on a date,” he replied, a smirk on his lips as he gazed into her eyes. “Like I said before, I want to learn what makes you tick, what makes you, well…you. I don’t want to rush into anything, Trina…as much as part of me wants to.” It was Liam’s turn to look away, his eyes darting from her eyes to her nose, before resting in the general area of her eyes, without looking directly at her. “I’ve been hurt before too,” he began. “Not the way you were hurt, but I’ve been used to make someone else jealous…more than once.” He ran his hand through his hair, lightly scratching the back of his head.

“Thank you Liam.”

“For?”

“Listening. Not forcing me to take action. I know you want me to, but I don’t know that I can.”

“You can do anything,” he replied, stroking her arm. “Yes, of course I think you should tell the administration and get those guys expelled…not just for what they did to you, but for the other ladies on campus that have gone through something similar. For the ladies that it might happen to in the future. Maybe just consider it? You’ll have my support no matter what you decide, and I know you’d have Drake’s support as w—”

“Please don’t say anything to Drake about what I said tonight.”

“I promise you, I won’t. But if there comes a time where you want to tell him what you told me, he’d tell you the same thing – we’d both have your back. He’s my best friend and you can trust him.”

They laid there in silence, looking at one another in near darkness for a moment of mutual understanding. If Katrina stepped forward, she wouldn’t have to deal with any potential blowback on her own because Liam – and Drake by association – would be in her corner, without hesitation. It was more than she could even begin to ask of him, and he offered it so freely to her. Liam seemed to be studying her face, the same way she was studying his – the fine lines of the wrinkles in his forehead as he looked at her, his high cheekbones and strong jawline. “So you want me to be more than a page in the story of Liam Rys?”

“Definitely.”  _I hope you’ll be on every page from now until the very end_.

“I can live with that.” Her eyes fell to his mouth, and her lips twitched in momentary delight as she noticed a small beauty mark on the edge of his upper lip, nearly hidden by the dark stubble around his mouth and chin. Under any other circumstances, she’d want to be kissing him. They were in a dark room, lying next to one another in his bed, just inches apart, and the way he was looking at her made her want to melt into a puddle. Any other guy would have tried to make a move on her, but not Liam Rys. He was like no one she’d met before.


	5. Let It Be Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Homecoming has arrived; new feelings come to light, and wheels are set in motion. (I am terrible with chapter summaries, but I'm trying.)

Liam kept true to his word after Katrina shared her dark secret – things between them didn’t change, at least not in a negative way. She still called him every morning, and they continued to spend their free time together studying and talking. Liam noticed that she seemed lighter after sharing what happened to her, part of the immeasurable weight she’d been carrying on her shoulders having been cast away. Though it pained him to know what she’d endured, he was glad that confiding in him made her feel better.

It had been an innocent request a few days later – “Let’s go watch the Homecoming game together” – Drake casually said to them over lunch with Olivia. Liam noticed the way Katrina froze, nearly choking on the food in her mouth. He patted her back gently as she cleared her throat, leaning in to whisper in her ear.

“We don’t have to go, I can make something up and we can just hang out and watch movies all day if you want.”

Katrina kept a neutral expression on her face and shrugged her shoulders. “It would be weirder  _not_  to go. I should be okay as long as I’m with all of you,” she replied, taking a sip of water. “Maybe save the movie marathon for another weekend?” Liam smiled and nodded silently, and both of them resumed their meals.

As the foursome walked back to campus, Liam pulled back a few feet behind Drake and Olivia. “I have a question for you,” he said, glancing down at her.

“Kay.”

“Would you go to the Homecoming dance with me?”

Katrina stopped in her tracks on the sidewalk, paying no attention to the people that ‘ _tsk-ed_ ’ at her for blocking the flow of foot traffic. She looked up at Liam, who turned back to look at her, but continued to walk on. After telling her body to move her feet and catch up, her brows knit together. “Are you asking me out…on a date?”

Liam chuckled, a satisfied smirk plastered across his face. “Nooo…I asked if you’d go to the dance with me.”

“You’re killin’ me Smalls,” she groaned, rolling her eyes. “But my answer is yes – I’ll go to the dance with you.”

—

It was a sunny Saturday morning in October when Katrina and Olivia met Liam and Drake in front of the boys’ dorm before heading to the football field.  Everyone was clad in their school colors of baby blue and navy, despite Olivia’s protest that red was her color. She felt vindicated in her rebellion by opting to wear crimson red leather boots. At the game, they were lost in the sea of blue, cheering until their voices were strained and hoarse, fueled by too much beer and not enough food.

The game was close, and for most of the fourth quarter, everyone stood and cheered, watching the home team inch their way closer to the end zone. “Motherfu—” Katrina mumbled, standing on her toes. “I can’t see anything!”

“Aww, half pint can’t see the game!” Drake teased, patting the top of Katrina’s head.

She swatted his hand away, moving to stand on the bleachers, but it barely helped her to see over the tops of the very, very tall members of the basketball team that were in front of them. Liam sidestepped in front of her. “Hop on, Shortstack,” he teased.

“Are you serious right now?” she asked, mildly insulted.

“You wanna see the end of the game or not?” Liam flipped his baseball cap the right way around, raising his arms in the air. Katrina hopped onto his back, wrapped her arms around his neck, and gripped his shoulders as her legs closed around his long torso. Liam wrapped his hands under her knees to carry her, squeezing lightly as he adjusted his stance, and Katrina giggled and kicked one leg out, pressing herself against Liam’s back.

“Stop, I’m ticklish!”

“Is that so?” Liam playfully prodded the underside of Katrina’s knees with his fingers, and her feet flailed on either side of him as she squirmed, trying to break free without completely letting go. Hearing Katrina laugh was one of his new favorite sounds in the world, though his joy ended abruptly when she started thrashing and her heel came dangerously close to hitting him where no man wanted to be hit. He bent forward trying to counter her movements, losing his balance as he tried to right himself. She was still laughing and squirming around on his back, her fingers digging into his shoulders, and the altered center of gravity sent them toppling backwards.

Katrina landed on the bleachers with a hard  _THUD_  on her backside, Liam falling right on top of her so that her head collided against the shins of the people standing behind them. “OWWW!” She quickly apologized to the students behind her, and Liam scrambled to his feet before helping her up. Olivia and Drake looked down at their friends, shaking their heads and laughing.

“You two need to kiss again and just get it over with, seriously,” Olivia chided. Drake wrapped an arm around her waist and whispered in her ear, and she tilted her head back to laugh, kissing him on the cheek as they helped their friends stand up.

“Take two?” Liam asked, stepping in front of Katrina once more. “I won’t tickle you this time, you thrash around too much,” he laughed.

She flicked the back of his neck with her fingers, causing him to reflexively pull his shoulders forward, before hopping on his back once more. She was finally able to see the game, keeping one arm wrapped around Liam’s collar; his hands gripped the underside of her thighs, just above the knee. She barely paid attention to the game, focusing instead on the warmth from his hands pressing through her jeans, and a fluttering sensation rose up from her stomach until she felt like her ribs could no longer contain the lightness within her. The roar of the crowd grew faint in her ears, her attention focused on the scent of Liam’s cologne invading her nostrils. She closed her eyes as she committed the heady mixture of vanilla, sandalwood, and moss to memory, a tiny smile creeping its way across her face when she inhaled. The sound of Liam shouting broke her from her trance.

“Go, go, gooooo!” he cheered, bouncing them both as he pumped his knees. Her eyes shot open, catching a knowing look from Olivia before she turned her attention to the field, and Katrina felt her cheeks warm. The home team scored another touchdown, creating an even larger lead against the opposing team, and everyone would be in good spirits with a win. She cheered along with her friends and wrapped her arms in front of Liam’s broad chest, her hair cascading off one shoulder as he turned his head to smile at her.

—

“Are you sure I can’t give you at least a little something for the dress, Liv?” Katrina wrapped another section of hair around her fingers, sandwiching it between a piece of foil, and wrapped the curl in place. She repeated the process with the rest of her hair as she and Olivia prepped for the dance in Olivia’s room.

“Pshh, don’t worry about it,” Olivia replied, her own crimson locks swept up in an elegant updo, secured with a glittering ebony comb that looked like a dagger in her hair. Olivia had been kind enough to find and purchase a dress for her after searching her closet and coming up empty handed. “Liam’s not going to know what hit him when he sees you in that dress. When’s that idiot going to ask you out, anyway?” Her emerald eyes shot across the room as she tapped blush onto her cheeks.

Katrina sighed. “I don’t knooow,” she whined, wrapping up the last few locks of hair. “He says he’s saving it for the right moment, but it’s driving me insane.” She clamped one of her foiled locks with a flat iron, counting in her head before releasing it, then clamped another lock. “It’s been weeks, Liv. WEEKS. I know he wants to take things slow, but this is like…”

“Lingchi Torture? Death by a thousand cuts?”

“YES,” Katrina huffed. “That is…frighteningly specific,” she added, laughing nervously. “The way he looks at me sometimes, and,” she paused, “I don’t know if it’s me, but he’s such a flirt.”

Olivia’s lips curled up as she swept blush on her other cheek. “That’s all you, according to Drake.”

Katrina released the foiled lock between the plates and picked up another. “I get that he’s been hurt before and he wants to take things slow, and I’ve never had a friend like him before, but…” She hesitated to finish the sentence, unwilling to believe that Liam would be the type of person to lead someone along for no reason.

“To be fair, the last girl he dated was a real piece of work.” Olivia clicked her tongue as she continued applying makeup to her face. “This ice queen named Madeleine. No idea what he saw in her…thankfully it was short-lived when she got the attention she wanted from her target.”

“Who was her target? He vaguely mentioned the last girl he dated wasn’t that into him, and stopped seeing him out of nowhere.”

“She had eyes for the captain,” Olivia answered, pursing her lips in disapproval. “A few girls I know that know some of the guys on the team said it messed with his head for a while.”

“As in Liam’s captain? Of the basketball team?”

“That’s the one. From what Drake’s mentioned in passing, Liam moped for weeks…until he met you at that party.”

Katrina’s lips formed a tight line across her face as she continued “panini-ing” her hair, Olivia had teased. She’d asked about some of his exes, curious to know whether he stayed friends with any of them – they’d spent the better part of two months becoming friends, but Liam only ever talked about Drake, Olivia, and a few guys on the team. He told her that he usually parted amicably with who he dated in the past; at best they were acquaintances and he’d smile or make polite conversation if he ran into anyone on campus.

Anyone that hurt him – Madeleine seemed to fall into this category – he would cut ties with, preferring not to have that reminder in his life. Madeleine had dated Liam and then dumped him for the captain of his own team. Katrina thought she sounded like a status climber; only interested in being at the top for her own personal gain. How anyone could use someone as wonderful as Liam was beyond Katrina’s comprehension.

Olivia carefully applied false lashes to her eyelids as she finished getting ready, and Katrina stepped into the bathroom to change into her dress. She hooked the halter neckline at the back of her neck and smoothed down the ombre tulle fabric covered in silver glitter. Standing in front of the sink, she pried open the foil wrappings from her hair, letting her jet-black curls fall loosely around her. She gently used her fingers to separate the coils to relaxed waves, smoothing down a deep side part. If her hair was shorter she could’ve gone full Rita Hayworth, but she liked the Old Hollywood effect it had nonetheless. She returned to Olivia’s room, holding her hands up at her sides, and Olivia turned around with a pleased smirk on her face. “If Liam doesn’t ask you out on a date after tonight, I’ll slap him myself.”

There was a knock at the door as Katrina and Olivia packed what they needed into their clutches, and Olivia opened the door to let the guys in. Drake and Liam stepped inside, looking dapper in their suits. Drake took Olivia’s hand and spun her around, planting a sweet kiss to her lips as she met his gaze. Liam took one look at Katrina and rubbed the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly at her. A hint of color started to creep from the collar of his crisp, black shirt up his neck, and he held up a clear box containing a corsage. “It might be old fashioned, but I…got this for you,” he stammered, his voice wavering with nervous energy. “You look beautiful, by the way.”

Katrina’s eyes twinkled and she smiled at him. “Thank you. You’re looking very sharp tonight,” she commented, gesturing at his dark suit. “You too, Drake.”

“Yes, we all look amazing, let’s get this show on the road, shall we?” Drake leaned over to Olivia and kissed her earlobe, whispering something in her ear that made her playfully hit him with her clutch.

“May I?” Liam asked, opening the plastic container. Katrina held out her hand and he slipped the small trio of white orchids on her wrist.

“It’s lovely,” she murmured, turning her wrist to admire the flowers. She grabbed a wrap from her things, and Liam held the door open as they left the room, Olivia locking the door behind her.

—

Katrina and Liam danced the night away in the hotel ballroom, filled with their classmates. She introduced him to friends from some of her classes, and they hung out with several of his teammates when taking breaks from poor song choices. She noticed a tall, leggy blonde looking at her with a sour face for most of the night, though she kept her distance with an equally tall upperclassman on her arm. Katrina turned away from Liam, who was chatting with one of his friends at the table. “Marcus, who’s the tall guy and the bitchy blonde?” she asked the young man sitting next to her.

“That’d be our team captain, Travis Howard,” Marcus answered. “And I’m pretty sure you know who his date is, considering who you’re here with.” His eyebrows shot up as he nodded in Liam’s direction.

“That’s what I thought,” she replied, pulling her lips into a tense line.

The song changed to something upbeat, and Liam rose up from his seat as he grinned at Katrina, extending a hand to her. They returned to the dance floor and soon it filled with students all around them. Liam moved closer to Katrina as their bodies moved to the beat, moreso to keep her from bumping into anyone else, but she caught the half smile on his face before she spun around in her heels. She took a step back until she felt Liam against her, one of his hands falling to her hip, the pressure of his touch causing her skin to warm under the layers of tulle. His other hand grazed the back of her neck, sweeping her hair over the opposite shoulder, and two fingers lightly traced down the exposed skin on her back. She hoped that the music was loud enough to cover the gasp that escaped her throat, feeling both of his strong hands on her hips as their bodies moved in tandem to the beat.

She closed her eyes as she lost herself to the hypnotic notes of the song, swaying her hips as Liam matched her movements. Rolling her shoulders back, she leaned against his chest, smiling to herself as his fingers dug into her skin and bunched up the fabric of her dress around her waist. She pivoted around, keeping one foot in place so that she faced him, and they continued their silent game. She bit her bottom lip as she looked up at him; half his mouth pulled back in a smirk as his eyes met hers before moving further south. She swung one arm up to rest on the back of his neck, rubbing the soft, short hair there, and Liam licked his lips. Just as his hand wrapped around her waist to pull her in, someone stepped on her toes. HARD.

Katrina shot a look over her shoulder at the guilty party and saw none other than Madeleine as she turned and danced with her date, pretending that nothing had happened. Liam saw the annoyed look on Katrina’s face and tried to shift so that he stood between her and his ex, but it didn’t take long for Madeleine to work her way close to Katrina again as the crowd ebbed and flowed with the music. This time Madeleine hip-checked her, Liam grabbing Katrina’s other hip to keep her from falling over. He leaned down and pressed his face to her ear, his warm breath making her skin tingle. “Let’s go somewhere else, she’s just going to keep doing this if we stay here.” There was the lightest sheen of sweat across his warm skin, and she could smell the intoxicating blend of his cologne and  _him_  as her heart fluttered in her chest the way it did at the football game.

Katrina shook her head, lightly tapping Liam’s cheek with her hand. “Nuh uh,” she muttered. Taking a deep breath, she turned around and tapped Madeleine on the shoulder, digging the tips of her nails into Madeleine’s shoulder harder than necessary.

Madeleine whipped around, pretending not to see Katrina, laughing coldly as she glanced down. “Can I help you, little girl?”

“You can apologize, for starters,” Katrina seethed. “I know you pushed me.”

“It’s a crowded dance floor,” Madeleine replied, rolling her eyes. “You can leave if you can’t handle a little bump.”

“I don’t know what your game is,  _Madeleine_ ,” Katrina hissed. Madeleine’s eyes widened in surprise, unaware that Katrina knew her name. “But you can stop right now.” Liam and Travis exchanged awkward looks with one another, before Travis lightly wrapped his hand around the inside of Madeleine’s elbow, trying to pull her away.

“Travis, I  _have_  this!” she exclaimed, yanking her arm away. Other dancers around them stepped back and started watching their exchange. “I don’t know what your problem is—”

“My problem  _is you_ ,” Katrina interrupted, “trying to ruin a perfectly good evening by stomping all over me like you own the dance floor.”

“Liam, really,” Madeleine scoffed. “Can’t you keep the trash you date in line?”

Liam stared at Madeleine in disbelief as the students around them gasped and jeered. His eyes turned dark and the muscle along his jawline twitched as he clenched his teeth. It was easy to see that he was trying to control himself before responding, and Katrina calmly placed her hand around one of his closed fists, squeezing once, though her own hand trembled. She narrowed her stormy grey eyes at Madeleine, tilting her head up to look her in the eyes as best as she could. “First of all, Liam and I are here as friends,” she began, baring her teeth in a forced smile. “Second, you realize that you just called yourself trash, because between the two of us, you’re the only one that dated him.”

The crowd around them began to snicker and laugh at the revelation, and Madeleine’s porcelain skin took on a scarlet hue upon realizing the error of her words. She opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water, failing to pull together a comeback. Katrina craned her neck past Madeleine to look at her date. “I don’t know you, but I’d watch my back around her,” she added, pointing a curled finger in Madeleine’s direction. “If she was willing to use someone as sweet and genuine as Liam just to get to you, she could be doing the same with you to get to someone else.”

The crowd jeered again and Madeleine stepped up to Katrina, making her lean back in place. “I don’t know who you think you are, you little gutter rat,” she hissed, jabbing a finger near Katrina’s collarbone. “But you should watch your tongue.”

“Bitch, I’m half Irish, you wanna settle this right now?” Katrina’s heart was pumping and pulsing blood through her limbs, and she’d quickly removed the dangly earrings from her ears along with the corsage on her wrist. She stretched her arm behind her, her eyes never leaving Madeleine’s stare. “Liam, hold my things!” She felt Liam’s hand around hers to retrieve the items, but he kept a firm grasp on her wrist.

“Trina, we should go,” he urged gently. “I think she gets the point,” he whispered in Katrina’s ear, before pulling back to stand upright. “Isn’t that right, Madeleine?” His voice was harsher, louder, almost commanding. Liam placed his hands on Katrina’s shoulders as he stood behind her, protecting her or keeping her from lashing out further, she couldn’t tell.

Madeleine straightened up, still staring at Katrina, before flitting her gaze up at Liam. “Understood.” She took a step back from the two of them, and Travis reappeared behind her. He brusquely led her off the dance floor through the crowd that had gathered.  

Liam kept his grasp on Katrina’s shoulders, nudging her off the dance floor to where Drake and Olivia were standing at the edge of the crowd, and they made their way out of the ballroom to the hotel lobby. Katrina’s heart was still racing and there was a pounding sensation in her head as Olivia took her hand and led her to a powder room, where she grabbed a stack of paper towels and wet them, placing them on the back of Katrina’s neck. Katrina grabbed the towels and pressed them to her forehead, resting her elbows on her knees as she sat down in a plush chair.

She closed her eyes and took slow, deep breaths. Slowly, her heart stopped racing, and the pounding sensation in her head ceased. Olivia handed her another cold, wet stack of paper towels, and Katrina tossed the first set in a trash can before pressing the cold cloths to one side of her temple.

“Were you seriously going to fight Madeleine in the middle of the dance floor?”

Katrina stifled a wry laugh. “Yes? No? I’m not sure,” she replied, shaking her head. “Probably? If she tried anything.”

“I have so much more respect for you,” Olivia answered back, an amused tone in her voice. “It’s like my parents used to say, ‘If you can breathe, you can stand…if you can stand, you can fight’…and you looked like you were ready to fight for Liam’s honor… or maybe his heart?” She arched one of her impeccable brows in the air to go with her question.

Katrina sat up and sighed, tossing the wad of paper towels into the trash can with a flick of her wrist. “It just makes my blood boil that someone as nice and decent and wonderful as Liam would be treated so horribly by someone like… _her._ ”

“Look at it this way, if she’d seen how great he is, you probably wouldn’t have met him the way you did at the party, and you wouldn’t be here with him tonight.”

“Good point. I dunno Liv,” she sighed again. “I’m starting to feel things that I shouldn’t feel if I’m just supposed to be friends with him.”

“What sort of feelings?”

“These…jealous type of feelings. The kind that make me irrationally angry seeing his ex in the same room… the kind that have started to make my heart ache when I have to say goodbye to him at the end of the night when he walks me back to my dorm, and make me smile like an idiot when I call him every morning before dawn to wake him.”

Olivia turned and looked in the mirror, tucking her hair into place. “Sounds like you’re starting to fall for him.”

Katrina stood up and looked at her reflection in the mirror, fixing her hair. “Yeah. Only we haven’t gone on a real date, and our first kiss was a half-baked ploy to avoid my ex, which didn’t even work.” She tucked her hair behind one ear, then grabbed her earlobes. “My earrings!”

Olivia tapped her shoulder. “Liam has them outside. Let’s go back, maybe I can talk Drake into one last dance if they play a slow song.”

They exited the powder room and found Drake and Liam waiting for them in the hallway, smiling as they approached. Drake pretended to punch Katrina’s shoulder. “Who knew you were so feisty?”

“Like I told Blondie, I’m half Irish,” Katrina answered, laughing as they walked back to the ballroom. “Feisty’s in my DNA.” Liam stuck his hand in his shirt pocket and placed Katrina’s earrings in her palm, brushing the tips of his fingers across her open hand. They made their way back to the table where Drake and Liam left their jackets. “Thanks for holding on to these for me,” she said, putting the earrings back on. “What’d you do with the corsage?”

Liam carefully pulled the corsage from his pants pocket. “You don’t have to wear it anymore if you don’t want to,” he offered. “I noticed your wrist is a little red.”

“Oh, that’s probably just the elastic.” She grimaced a bit, trying to cover the red stripe across her wrist where the corsage had been most of the night. The flowers were beautiful, but the elastic was always itchy and too tight for anyone that wore them. They sat down in a pair of empty chairs while Olivia and Drake went to the bar for drinks. She opened her clutch and retrieved a pair of bobby pins. “How about we turn it into a boutonnière for the rest of the night so it doesn’t go to waste?” Liam watched as she used the bobby pins to pin it to the outer breast pocket of his suit jacket. “Perfect,” she said almost to herself, a pleasant smile on her face. She turned in the chair so she faced him, leaning against the back with one arm as she kicked her heels off under the dress.

They looked at one another in a comfortable silence, Katrina unsure of what to say while Liam’s eyes moved back and forth between her and the crowd dancing behind her. He licked his lips and she saw his Adam’s apple move before he leaned in to speak to her over the loud beat of the music in the ballroom. “What you did earlier, standing up to Madeleine like that…”

“I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable,” she began to explain.

Liam looked into her eyes as he took hold of her hand. “No, you don’t need to apologize for that. I was going to say, the only other person – not counting Drake when we’ve been out and someone’s had a few drinks too many – “ he laughed. “The only other person to stand up the way you did was…well…my mother,” Liam laughed again.

“What do you mean?”

“I uh, I used to get picked on a lot in elementary school,” he explained. “Small town and all, I was different from the kids in my class. So I got picked on, and my mom would come to the school and argue with the Principal that they should punish the kids that teased me. Every single time. Until I decided that I could fend for myself…I mean if my tiny Mom could stand up to the Principal, I could stand up to the kids that were picking on me, right?”

“Right…so I remind you of your mom?” Katrina bit her bottom lip as her brows knit together, trying to understand.

“Sort of,” he replied, looking up at her with a shy smile. “I…appreciate that you were ready to throw down against Madeleine if it came to that. And…I think you’re pretty sweet too, Trina.”

Katrina tried to fight the smile making its way across her lips, but it was a losing battle. “Caught that, did ya?” she teased.

Liam placed his hands on hers as he looked into her eyes. “That I did, you sparkly ball of rage,” he teased back. His head quirked up as the music changed to a slow song, and he glanced at his watch. “I think this is the last song of the night,” he said, standing up from the chair and extended his hand to Katrina once more. “Will you do me the honor?”

Katrina took Liam’s hand and rose from the chair, using him to balance herself as she slipped her feet back into her heels, and they walked over to the dance floor. They noticed Drake and Olivia a few feet away, shifting around in a lazy circle as they danced together. She was about to reach up and wrap her hands around the back of his neck and dance in a similar manner, but Liam took her right hand in his left, and gently raised her left arm with his right arm under hers, until they were in a waltz position. “I umm… I don’t think I know the proper steps,” she said nervously.

“It’s a really simple box step, just follow my lead,” he assured her. “Just mirror my feet, and I’ll do the rest.” He began counting off the steps as they moved, and Katrina found herself being whirled around a small space of the floor as Liam waltzed effortlessly with her. She faltered a few times, and Liam slowed down. “Don’t look at your feet,” he said, his voice just above a whisper. “Look here.” He tilted her chin up with his hand so they looked each other in the eye, before supporting her arm again.

Katrina gazed into his deep brown eyes as he led her around again, noticing the way the corners of his eyes wrinkled as he smiled at her. She hardly noticed that he’d stopped counting off the steps, until she heard him quietly singing along to the song. Liam’s voice was tender and earnest, as though the words were meant just for her to hear. Feeling her eyes start to water, she blinked furiously to keep any tears at bay as Liam continued to sing to her while they glided across the floor.

_You feel like you’d give anything // for just a little place you can call your own // that’s when you need someone // someone that you, you can call // when all your faith is gone // it feels like you can’t go on // Let it be me // Let it be me // If it’s a friend you need // Let it be me // Let it be me_

As the song came to an end, Liam winked at her and twirled her round before leaning forward to dip her, and Katrina laughed. If she was unsure of where her feelings towards Liam were before the evening began, she knew where she stood now. In his arms, Katrina was finally starting to feel safe.

—

The next morning, Liam went through his usual weekend routine. Katrina called him at 7 AM instead of 5:30 AM, and he went for a run. He strolled through a park on the way back to campus, taking in the quiet sounds of the city waking up around him, wishing that he could watch the sun rise with Katrina. Only an hour had passed and he wanted to hear her voice again, but he knew she was fast asleep.

After taking his time getting ready, reading in bed, and scrolling through a few candid photos of her on his phone, Liam got out of bed and scrolled through his contacts until he found the name he was looking for. His eyes darted over to the corsage and bobby pins sitting on his desk, and he smiled to himself as he pressed the green call button before stepping into the hallway. On the other side of the room, Drake had his head buried under pillows. The other end of the line trilled three times before a familiar voice greeted him.

“Morning Momma,” he uttered quietly into the phone, making his way to a communal lounge on the floor. “I’m fine, how are you and Dad? And the dogs?” Liam paused to listen to his mother’s voice on the other end of the call, stretching in front of a window. “I just wanted to say hi, and to thank you, Momma. For the dance lessons you made me take when I was younger. They um, finally got put to use.” Liam smiled as he scratched the back of his head with his free hand, then pushed the bridge of his glasses up. “I met a girl, Momma, and she’s…she’s everything,” he mused, leaning against the windowpane. “You’ll never believe what happened when I took her to a dance last night…”


	6. Say It With A Song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam's in a bind, Katrina chats with her roommate, and Drake drops a little truth bomb as everyone buckles down before exams.

**THURSDAY NIGHT**

“Hey Liam, I need a favor.”

Liam barely looked up from the notes sprawled before him on the bed. “Name it.”

“I uhh…need you to find somewhere else to sleep tomorrow night. Maybe Saturday night too.”

Liam’s head shot up and he looked over at Drake, who was paging through one of his textbooks.  _Seriously? SERIOUSLY?!_ “We’re in the middle of Reading Week, are you kidding me right now?”

Drake shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. “What can I say? Stress does things to Liv, and when she gets stressed she—”

Liam waved his hand in the air, signaling Drake to stop talking, and he exhaled with a laugh. “I don’t need the details, I’ll give you the room.”  _I could crash with…ugh, no, he snores. Lovejoy and Quinn…god no, I can’t even see the floor in their room. Miller…he’d kill me with the wakeup calls from Trina. Hmm…would Trina?_  He picked up his phone and opened ViewTube to find a music video, making a mental note of the time when the line he was waiting for was sung. After copying the link, he opened the messaging app and pasted the link into a new message along with the time. He bit the inside of his cheek to avoid smirking and pressed ‘send’.

.:.

Katrina sighed on her bed, shutting her laptop closed before pushing it across the comforter. She took her glasses off, holding the frames between her thumb and forefinger, and pressed the base of her palms against her closed eyelids before slipping the glasses back on her face. Then she launched herself backwards into the bed, landing against a pile of pillows. She pulled one over her face. “My brain can’t handle any more,” she groaned, removing the pillow from her face. “My brain is mush.”

“Are you sure it’s not mush because of a certain point guard that you have heart eyes for every time you see him?” Lis shrieked as Katrina tossed a pillow across the room and smiled at her roommate. “Seriously, Kat, has he asked you out yet? You went to Homecoming together! That was almost three weeks ago!”

“Nothing to report,” Katrina stated matter-of-factly. Part of her just wanted to forget that Liam said anything about a date because she felt like he was never going to ask, even if he’d made a promise. “Maybe it’s better if I just stay friends with him. I’ve never had a guy friend like Liam before.”

“A guy friend like what? How is he different?”

“He’s just fun to be around,” Katrina replied, shrugging her shoulders. She pulled her laptop towards her and flipped it open; after unlocking the screen she looked at the desktop wallpaper – a photo of her and Liam from the dance. She pulled up one of her essays to cover their smiling faces before she started grinning back at the screen. “I can’t explain it, really. He’s kind, and funny, and smart, and he’s easy to talk to… I just want to talk to him all the time, about everything and nothing.” She tipped her head forward, letting her long ebony hair fall in front of her face like a curtain. “Did I tell you I listened to him talk about old cars for nearly an hour the other day?”

“What’s so bad about that?”

“Nothing, really, I just…short of minor car repairs, something like rebuilding an engine isn’t that interesting to me. But he told me this story of how he and his dad went searching for car parts to restore a ’57 Chevy Bel Air one summer – ugh, I know the  _model of the car_  – and then finding the right paint color, and…I just let him talk, because it was adorable watching him get all excited talking with his hands as he kept going.” Katrina ran her fingers through her hair and pulled it back into a high ponytail, twisting it into a messy bun as she continued. “His eyes lit up and did this squinty, thing,” she added, gesturing in the air. “And he couldn’t stop smiling. He was talking a mile a minute about spending the whole summer working on the car with his dad. If anyone else tried to tell me that story, I would’ve been bored out of my mind.”

“Kat, admit it,” Lis said, shaking her head. “You like him. A lot. A lot a lot a lot. Just…kiss him or something. Let him know.”

Katrina dramatically dropped her head forward and sighed. “But what if that ruins whatever this thing is I have with him? I don’t want to lose that.”

“So you’re just going to wait until the end of time for him to ask you out? That doesn’t seem fair.”

“I know, but…uuuugh,” she groaned again, flopping back against the mattress. “This sucks. I really like him and all I want to do is kiss him again but now I’m scared to. This crush is killing me, Lis, killing me!”

“You’ve got it bad, I don’t know what else to tell you,” Lis laughed. Katrina’s phone buzzed on the mattress and she sat up to look at the screen, a happy smirk flashing across her friend’s face. “Speak of the devil,” Lis teased, “I know that look.”

Katrina stuck her tongue out at Lis, her eyes scanning over the text message from Liam. She noted the time to pay attention to in the video before clicking the link; one of their new “things” was sending links to songs they liked, which morphed into using song lyrics for questions and answers. Her brows knit together as the video loaded, wondering why he chose Gin Blossoms “Hey Jealousy,” and then she smiled as the gears turned in her head.

**_Tell me do you think it’d be alright / If I could just crash here tonight / You see I’m in no shape for driving / And anyway I’ve got no place to go_ **

She searched for another song, copying the link and noting down the time for her lyrical response, tapping her reply to Liam.

.:.

Liam’s phone buzzed next to him, and he clicked on Trina’s response –  ** _What’s the story, Morning Glory?_**  – grinning at the screen. He repeated the same process as before, running through song options in his head, and sent more video links in his reply.

.:.

Katrina’s phone buzzed with Liam’s response – Drake + Olivia 1:41-1:52 ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEmrvCiEapM](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DcEmrvCiEapM&t=ZTViZTJlNDVhNmY2OGUwZGRlODA4OGYxZGNlZWY5ZjMzYzRkMWNiOCxpcXlUOGpRVw%3D%3D&b=t%3Aib9XknJF_7oCd_crrkJyxA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fzaffrenotes.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F182726824618%2Fserendipity-6a-say-it-with-a-song&m=1)) ME, first 10 seconds ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Q_ZzBGPdqE](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D2Q_ZzBGPdqE&t=NWZkZGE3YjIzZGE1YWNhMzE0YjdmOTRjZWJjMDE1NTM5ZjVkNGMzNCxpcXlUOGpRVw%3D%3D&b=t%3Aib9XknJF_7oCd_crrkJyxA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fzaffrenotes.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F182726824618%2Fserendipity-6a-say-it-with-a-song&m=1))

She plugged her earbuds into her phone and clicked on the first link, a blush creeping up her neck as Trey Songz “Touchin, Lovin” video loaded, and her eyes grew wide as she tried not to overreact; then she laughed when the video hit the 1:41 mark.

**_I’m touchin you tonight / I’m lovin you tonight / I’m fuckin you, girl_ **

She clicked on the second link and laughed harder when The Beatles song played through the earbud in her ear, the other one dangling off her shoulder.

**_HELP / I need somebody / HELP / not just anybody / HELP / You know I need someone / HELP_ **

“What’s so funny over there?” Lis asked, peering over at her friend.

Katrina wiped the tear in her eye and took a few deep breaths to stop laughing. “I think Liam just asked if he can crash in our room this weekend. I…I think Drake is sexiling him,” she replied, before erupting into laughter again.  

Lis’s eyes widened in surprise, her hands pulling away from the keyboard. “Drake’s doing what now?!” The two ladies stared at each other before falling into a fit of giggles.

“You know,” Katrina finally replied, clutching her stomach as she attempted to calm down, “sexiling him…kicking him out of the room so Liv can stay over.” She removed her glasses to wipe at the fresh tears from her eyes, then picked up her phone. “What should I say? Is it okay with you if he stays here a night?”

“Say yes, moron!” Lis grinned and shook her head. “I’ll stay with Erin down the hall to give you two privacy,” she added, winking and nodding emphatically.

“Oh my god, that’s not happening!” Katrina giggled. “We kissed once months ago and you think I’m going to sexile you? Even though he hasn’t made a move on me?”

“I mean…maybe that’s a talk that’ll come up if he’s  _alone with you_. Overnight. Without me around to get in the way of…possible things?”

“I’m not kicking you out.”

“I know you’re not. I’m offering to leave,” Lis laughed. “If I stay or go is your call, I’m fine if he stays here a night or two.”

“You’re the best roommate ever,” Katrina replied, typing in her response to Liam. “What’s Drake even thinking? We’re in the middle of reading period for midterms!”

.:.

Liam’s phone buzzed and the screen lit up, and he couldn’t help smiling as he read Katrina’s message: 0:12-0:14 ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RQDIJ2CvbA](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D0RQDIJ2CvbA&t=ZmQ3YWU5YzFjNTRjNTRjNjEyMmQyMDg1YjUzNDI2OGE3ZDlhNjU5NyxpcXlUOGpRVw%3D%3D&b=t%3Aib9XknJF_7oCd_crrkJyxA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fzaffrenotes.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F182726824618%2Fserendipity-6a-say-it-with-a-song&m=1))

**_Come on over / Come on over baby_ **

He typed a quick response back to her before looking back at his notes. The past week he’d found himself missing her company more than he anticipated; aside from their ritual morning phone calls and meeting up for dinner on Monday, they hadn’t seen much of each other. Katrina changed her work schedule so she’d have time to study, so his afternoon runs weren’t as pressing since he couldn’t walk her back to campus.

While they’d spent countless evenings doing homework together, she confessed that she’d been slacking on her creative writing portfolio and had to focus on editing and writing new pieces. Liam obliged, though he was curious to know what she was writing about.  _I wonder if she’d let me read any of her writing._

“Why do you keep smiling at your phone like a dork?”

Liam looked up at Drake, who was grinning at him. “I am _not_ a dork.”

“Says the dork,” Drake teased. “Are you talking to Half Pint again? She’s the only one to cause that goofy smile on your face, y’know.”

Liam chuckled and shook his head, glancing back down at his notes. “You know it bugs her when you call her that.”  _We’ve been over this, Drake_.

“She’s not even here!” Drake laughed, lifting his hands with exasperation. “When are you going to get it over with and ask her out? You two act like you’ve been dating since you met, only without any of the fun shit.”

“It’s not like that with Trina,” Liam replied, suddenly defensive towards his friend. “She’s…something else. She’s different from the other girls I’ve dated.” He looked up to see Drake’s raised brows and a smug look at his slip-up.  _Shit_. “Not that Trina and I are dating. Because we’re not,” he added quickly.

“Not…yet…” Drake replied. “Seriously Li, after the way she was ready to throw down with your ex at Homecoming – that would’ve been the perfect time to ask her.”

Liam sighed, turning the page of one of his books, before pushing things aside to lay down in his bed. “That was probably the nicest thing anyone’s done for me,” he chuckled. He propped himself up on his elbows to sit up. “I can’t get into it, but I’m waiting for a sign.”  _Maybe that night WAS the sign, and now I’m just chickening out. What if I took too long and I friendzoned myself?_  He paused to stroke his chin before rubbing his hand across his face. “And now that I’ve gotten to know her I think I—”

“Might be falling in love with her?” Drake wiggled his brows up and down. “Liv and I see it, man. You two might just be calling yourselves friends, but it’s so much more than that.”

“No, no I’m not,” Liam lied.  _Right? I mean, I like her…a lot…more than a lot, actually._

“Yeah, okay.” Drake rolled his eyes and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “We’ve been roommates since freshman year, and I have  _never_  seen you spend so much time with one girl. Ever. She’s here all the time—”

“Sorry about that, it’s jus—”

“No no no, it’s fine, I don’t mind that you hang out here, Half Pi— _Katrina_  is great,” Drake replied, correcting himself. “I was pointing out that she’s here all the time, you visit her at work and walk her back to her dorm, you two are practically joined at the hip. It’s like…you’re a modern day Mark Darcy.”

Liam looked at Drake with an amused expression. “How do you even know who Mark Dar—”

“Lit class, you jerk,” Drake answered. “Anyway, my point is if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck…”

“I haven’t asked her out yet.”

“What’s got you spooked? Afraid she’ll say no? According to Liv she’s going insane waiting for you to bring it up.”

Liam furrowed his thick brows together. “Really?”

“Rys, are you dense?” Drake shook his head as he laughed. “You didn’t hear this from me, but Katrina’s outburst at the dance was because she was jealous, so yeah…pretty sure that means she’ll all but jump you when you ask her out.”

.:.

Katrina’s phone buzzed again, and she quickly scanned over Liam’s message: 1:01-1:02 ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oomCIXGzsR0](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DoomCIXGzsR0&t=ODFhOTJlODQ0M2VjOTIwNTcxMDE1YzE5YTJiYzBjODY2MGE3MDYxYixpcXlUOGpRVw%3D%3D&b=t%3Aib9XknJF_7oCd_crrkJyxA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fzaffrenotes.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F182726824618%2Fserendipity-6a-say-it-with-a-song&m=1)) see you Friday, I’ll come over around 8 and we’ll get dinner?

**_You’re the best / Around_ **

She fought the smile that eagerly flashed across her face as she watched the Karate Kid clip in the song and replied to his message, then flipped the phone over so she couldn’t see the screen. Pulling the jack from her phone, she plugged the earbuds into her laptop and pulled up another document, reading over the last few lines of the short story she’d been toiling over the few days. The words “lightning,” “kiss,” and “promise” stared at her, the stark text against the white background burning into her eyes, as the cursor blinked at her expectantly.

Katrina moved her fingers across the trackpad, covering her smile with her left hand as she read over the story again. She was going to have a sleepover with Liam. 


	7. The Sleepover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam heads to Katrina's dorm after being sexiled in the middle of Reading Period, and he finally starts to realize his feelings towards her are more than just a simple attraction.

**FRIDAY EVENING**

Liam walked across campus towards Katrina’s building, armed with a number of bags. His bookbag was stuffed to the brim with his laptop, textbooks, and notes; slung across his chest was an oversize gym bag for his clothes, running gear, and toiletries, and he carried a guitar case in one hand.  _Okay so the guitar might be overkill, but I DID promise to play for her last time I saw her_. He texted Katrina that he was coming over sooner than the agreed upon time, but got no response from her before he left Drake and Olivia to themselves.

He paused near the entrance of Katrina’s building, setting the guitar down to call her to meet him in the lobby. Another student walked out of the building, holding the door open for him before the call connected, so he thanked the young woman and made his way to Katrina’s room. Music blared in the hallway as he approached her room, clearly coming from behind her door as he set his case on the ground. He knocked as loudly and politely as he could, doubting that his efforts could be heard over the melodic piano notes mixed with a synthesized track. He waited a few moments before knocking again, then tried her phone again.  _Voicemail._  “Trina?” he called out, leaning into the door in an effort to project his voice inside.

He put his hand on the doorknob and turned, unsure if he wanted the door to be unlocked or not. It turned with ease, and he averted his eyes to the ceiling as a precaution. “Hello?” he called out, taking a cautious step into the room. He sucked in air through his teeth and winced as a blast of hot air hit him. Glancing down, he could see the room was empty, except for Katrina, who was doing some sort of upside down headstand on a yoga mat. Her arms were bent at the elbow, fingers laced behind her head to take some of the weight off her head, while her legs folded over one another, her feet resting on each thigh. With the exception of her chest slowly growing and shrinking as she breathed, she was completely still.

The sight of her holding such an impressive stance took Liam’s breath away.  _She never mentioned that she practiced yoga, and that pose looks…advanced._  She was wearing cropped yoga pants and a sports bra, the edges of the fabric across her ribs and against her chest a darker shade of grey from her sweat; her torso and arms glistened with tiny beads of perspiration.  _She’s been working out for a while_. Her long hair was pulled back into a messy bun, stray hairs around her face matted to her forehead and neck. Liam swallowed hard as he took in the sight of her –  _it feels like 100 degrees in here and she looks positively serene_  – face flushed with color from the inverted pose. He knew he ought to look away, to turn around and leave the room while she was still unaware of his presence, but his feet were rooted to the floor. A strong, stirring sensation hit him low in the gut as his mind ran wild for a moment, thinking about how much he’d like to run his hands along the back of her thighs and pull her to him. Liam drew his bottom lip between his teeth as he tried to think of something – anything – else to erase the image in his head.

The song that had been playing just a moment ago began to fade out, and Liam took a step back to sneak out of the room. The floorboard beneath him creaked, and Katrina pinched her brows together at the interruption. “Forget something, Lis? I’ll be done in a minute.”

“Um, it’s not Lis.”  _Please don’t be mad, please don’t be mad_.

“Liam?!” Katrina’s eyes flashed wide open as she took him in, and she began to wobble.

Liam took two wide steps towards her, shifting the gym bag behind him. “Careful there, I’ve got you,” he said, gripping her knees to hold her steady, trying not to step on her head. “Nearly hit the bedframe.” He looked over at her bed, noticing that it was much higher than his. “Why…why is your bed so high?” He glanced over at her roommate’s bed, which was also raised off the ground by at least a foot. “Why are both your beds so…tall?”

“One thing at a time,” Katrina answered. “Uh, little help? I need you to back up, please.” Liam let go of Katrina’s knees and took a step back, watching as she expertly lowered her twisted legs in front of her and rolled to an upright position. Her cheeks were bright pink from exertion and blood pooling while she was upside down, but she was glowing.  _She’s sweaty and she’s not wearing an ounce of makeup, and she looks sublime_. “Okay Google!” she called out as she stretched her legs out on the mat. “Lower volume to 12 percent!” The music lowered in volume as Liam looked around, finally noticing the tiny speaker on a dresser. “What’s in the door?” she asked, twisting around to stretch.

“Oh, right!” Liam quickly removed the bags on him before turning to retrieve his guitar from the doorway.

Katrina looked at his pile of things and laughed softly. “Are you moving in or something?” She’d changed positions and was now on her hands and knees on the mat, alternating between curling and arching her back.

Liam rubbed the back of his neck, a bashful smile on his lips as he looked down at Katrina. “Books, lots of books, and clothes, and uhh…my guitar, since you’ve been asking to hear me play. It helps when I get stuck writing for class sometimes as well. What…what’re you doing?”

“Cow and Cat pose,” she replied, nonchalantly. “You’re early,” she noted. She pulled back to sit on the ground, on top of her feet as her arms stretched out over her head, before smoothly moving towards him as she pulled herself forward on the mat. She inhaled and assumed a push-up position, stretching the upper half of her body as she pumped and straightened her arms, before another fluid movement had her bending at the waist in an inverted V. “Do me a favor?”

Liam shook his head, grateful that Katrina’s gaze was directed away from him. He cleared his throat. “Uh, yeah.”

“I know I’m gross right now, but can you press on my lower back? Straighten me out?”

“Um…okaaay,” he answered hesitantly. Liam slipped his feet out of his shoes before stepping on the mat, being mindful not to step on her hair, his hands in the air as he wondered how he was supposed to help her stretch.

“Don’t be shy, I can take it,” she said, beneath him. “Palms flat near the waistband and push, please.”

Liam leaned forward and pressed his hands against her dewy skin, his fingers just barely pressing the hem of her pants, and pushed her back until he felt resistance.

“Harder,” she directed.

_God help me_. His heart was already racing in his chest as he pressed into her back with more force, her hands sliding a few inches on the mat as she gave in to the bend.

“There,” she grunted softly. “Right there, don’t move.” Liam felt her muscles tense as she pushed against the resistance in his hands, listening to her breathe in and out slowly for five counts. Just as he felt his hands starting to slip against her skin, Katrina shifted her feet forward and rolled up to stand. Liam took half a step back to avoid his jaw colliding with the back of her head, smiling bashfully at her when she finally stood to face him and wiped his palms on his jeans. She grabbed a small towel off the edge of the bed and began patting off her face. “So, you’re here, uh, earlier than I expected.”

“I tried calling and texting,” he replied. Katrina turned around to pick up the phone on her desk, tapping at the screen. “I’m guessing you didn’t hear them during your workout.”

She pulled her face back in a mock grimace, setting her phone down again. “Yeah, I tend to zone out with the music and the movements, sorry.” She rolled up the yoga mat and lifted the skirt around her bed, crawling underneath.

“How long have you been practicing yoga? And what’s going on with your beds?” Liam bent down to get a better look, finally noticing the cinderblocks under each leg. He crouched down and lifted more of the bedskirt, eyes wide with surprise. Under the bed, Katrina had several milk crates to hold books and an impressive supply of tea and snacks. “Is that…do you have a toaster oven under your bed?!”

“I only plug it in when I use it,” she giggled.  _And I started practicing yoga again within a week of our not-a-date date._

“It’s still contraband!”

“Okay rules police,” Katrina teased. “If you report me, you don’t get a toaster oven cookie later.”

“Is that a sewing machine?”

Katrina stifled another laugh. “Well yeah. A few yards of discount fabric and a machine, and I can sew you just about anything, like these bedskirts for ten bucks, or…” she paused, giving Liam a once over as she crawled out from under the bed. “Maybe a dress shirt for you, or a jacket. Your legs are too long, it’d be easier to just buy you pants,” she grinned. She bustled about the room, pulling together a shower caddy, some towels, and a small pile of clothes. “Make yourself comfy, I need to take a shower, and then we can figure out dinner?”

“Sounds good. Order in?”

Katrina nodded in agreement. “Just yell at the speaker if you want to change the music or turn it off, I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Is your room always this…warm?” he asked, unzipping his hoodie and shrugging it off.

“Oh! Right!” She set her things down on the bed, flipped open a panel on the heating unit in the wall and turned a dial, then leaned over to crack open one of the windows. “These heaters have one setting – seventh level of hell hot, or off,” she chuckled, gathering her things in her arms again. Liam sighed with relief as he felt cold air drift in from the open window. “It’s great for making the room my personal hot yoga studio, but not much else. Lis and I jury-rigged a decent workaround last year so we wouldn’t have to flip the heat on and off every other hour, but it’s still too warm to do that.” Liam nodded at her as she made her way to the door. “ _Now_  I’m going to shower, make yourself at home.” She flashed him an awkward smile and the door shut behind her.

Liam picked up his things and moved them closer to Katrina’s side of the room, tucking his gym bag and guitar case under her bed. It was the first time he’d seen her room, since she typically spent countless afternoons and evenings in his building through the course of their blooming friendship. He walked around, admiring the posters around their room – Klimt’s “The Kiss,” Van Gogh’s “Starry Night,” and a movie poster hung above Lis’s bed for a film called “The Royal Romance.” Liam narrowed his eyes at the poster, taking in the sight of an old, coastal town, along with a crown and a ring hanging off the title letters.

He turned to look at the poster above Katrina’s bed – a small smile crossed his lips. She would have had no idea that a postcard of the same image was in a shoebox back in his room; a gift from Leo while he made his way through Italy and caught the Chagall exhibit.  _La Mariée. I wonder if she likes the goat in the painting the way I do, or the way it feels like you’re just floating in an endless sky_. In the small space above her nightstand, a replica of a vintage sign of MBTA stops hung on the wall, next to a set of small flags – one for Ireland, and one for South Korea.

Liam took a few steps over to admire the photos near Katrina’s desk, his eyes lingering on a framed photo of her with her sister and father at the beach. She had a huge, happy smile on her face; one that he’d been privileged to see the more they spent time together. The memo board on the wall in front of her desk was covered with photos of her smiling with friends, along with concert tickets and postcards. There was a small blue mason jar acting as a bookend that caught his attention. It was filled with folded pieces of paper, and the current school year was etched onto one side of the glass. He carefully picked up the jar and turned it in his hands, trying to get a peek at one of the folded slips of paper without actually opening it, and then he noticed the pad of paper the jar had been resting on. Scribbled in bright blue ink was the date, along with one word and a smiley face –  _sleepover_.

The door opened as Katrina returned to the room, and Liam quickly put the jar back on her desk before stepping away. “Okay, promise you won’t laugh. You’re uh, you’re going to see a version of me that only my roommates and Liv have ever witnessed.” She walked into the room with her back facing him, her hand wrapped around the doorknob.  

“When have I ever laughed at you, Trina?”

“All the time, smartass.” Liam chuckled at her response. “Just like that, see?”

“I solemnly swear not to laugh at you, now what are you hiding? I literally just saw you without any makeup on.” Liam took a few deep breaths to calm himself, unsure of what he was about to see. When Katrina turned around, he could feel his lips tug into a smile, and it took a conscious effort to keep his face still.

Katrina raised her brows at him, peering up over the frames of her eyeglasses; she rarely let anyone see her wearing them. Years of teasing in junior high and high school left her feeling extremely self-conscious when she wasn’t wearing contact lenses. “You’re not laughing,” she whispered.

“Why would I laugh at your glasses? You need them to see.” She gave him a shy smile as she set her shower caddy and toiletries back in place, tossing her sweaty gear in a laundry basket in one of the closets. “Besides, you know I wear glasses and contacts too.”

Katrina was busy rubbing a towel against her head to dry off her hair, her back to Liam once more. “Yeah, but your glasses make you look nerdy hot like Clark Kent,” she blurted out, followed by a softer “fuck” under her breath.

Liam whipped his head in her direction, unable to hide the flattered smile on his face. The back of his neck prickled with warmth.  _Did she just call me…_  “What was that? I look nerdy what?”

Katrina leaned against the closet door where she paused to hang her towel on a hook, letting out an embarrassed groan. “You heard me, Rys. I said what I said.” She turned around, slowly combing through her hair. “Thoughts on dinner? We studying tonight or tomorrow?”

“If you’re up for it, I have a Lit essay that could use your expert eyes. I’ve gone up a letter grade since you started proofreading for me, and my scholarship thanks you for that,” he grinned. He pulled his laptop and books from his bag, setting them on the floor.

“You can set up on my bed, you know…it’s much comfier than the floor.” Liam shrugged his shoulders in response while Katrina picked up his laptop, setting it on her mattress.

They spent several heated minutes seated next to each other on the floor, trying to decide on what to order for dinner. Liam scrolled through a delivery service app on his phone while Katrina braided her damp hair into a pair of Dutch braids, the spicy ginger scent of her shampoo wafting into his nose as her fingers moved to set the plaits. After finally agreeing to a restaurant and adding items to the cart, Katrina insisted on paying for dinner, trying to get Liam to take her card information. “You’re my guest, guests don’t pay!” she insisted, reaching for the phone that was clearly out of her grasp, given Liam’s lengthier limbs.

“What is this guest nonsense?” he laughed, leaning further back to prevent her from reaching his phone. His eyes went from the phone screen to her face, pushing her away like they were playing Keep Away. Phone cradled in his hand, he moved his thumb around the screen to confirm payment, holding the device high in the air. Katrina scrambled to reach it, to no avail. “Shortstack, it’s already paid for,” he laughed again. She grumbled in response, nearly shoving him to the floor.

“You never let me pay,” she huffed.

“It wouldn’t be right.”

“Don’t pull that crap with me,” she grumbled again, leaning over Liam to reach for her phone on the desk.

“I’m not trying to be an ass, Trina, I’m trying to be polite,” he sighed. In the scuffle, Liam found himself laying on the floor and Katrina was practically straddling him. He felt his heart start to race again, just as she swung her leg over and rolled away from him. He sighed again as she got up from the floor, tapping at her phone, before extending a hand to pull Liam up. His phone vibrated with a notification next to him, and he eyed her suspiciously. “You didn’t.”

“Oh, but I did,” she grinned back. “Shouldn’t have given me your Cash app info.”

“Fine, you can buy me a meal tomorrow. I’m not engaging in payment wars with you again,” he chuckled, shaking his head. “The bank nearly froze my account the last time because they thought someone stole my card.”

“All for tacos,” Katrina laughed.

Liam handed her a small stack of paper from his bag. “Do me the honor while we wait for food and I change?”

Katrina adjusted her glasses and took the paper from Liam’s hand. “Bathroom’s to the right, just around the corner.” She gave him a smile as he fished a pair of sweatpants from his other bag, and she plucked one of her fountain pens from a mug on her desk. Liam left the room to change and Katrina hopped up onto her bed, her eyes scanning over the typed lines on the page, squinting as she tried to decipher the text under scratched out lines and his handwriting. She’d already marked up half the essay with punctuation and grammar issues when he returned, having traded his skinny jeans for equally skinny grey sweatpants.

.:.

After dinner, Katrina and Liam sat on opposite ends of her bed as classical piano streamed into the room from the wireless speaker. Liam was typing away at another paper while she finished going over his essay. He would pause and look up at her every time she started scribbling something onto the page; he’d arch his eyebrow at her, and she’d return the silent question with a playful smirk or shrug of her shoulders, winking at him before resuming her task. In response, he’d poke her foot with his toe before returning his attention to the document on his screen.

Liam puffed out his cheeks, exhaling nervously when she handed the papers back to him, bright blue ink marking up his work, with her notes in the margins. He secretly loved seeing her handwriting on his papers, noting the questions she practically demanded of him to delve deeper into the material. She never tried to rewrite the paper for him, instead prodding him to explore themes and ideologies not always apparent to him. He loved it even more when they discussed the material in depth, reviewing passages of text as she analyzed the material with him. “You sure you don’t want to be a teacher?” he asked, leafing through the pages. “You’ve got the eye for reviewing papers.”

Katrina made a face, shaking her head. “I’m not knocking teaching as a career, but my heart wouldn’t be in it.”

Liam tapped a finger to his lips several times, nodding at her before returning to the paper in his hand. One corner of his mouth twitched up in a grin, and he glanced over to her again. “Can we at least sign up for the same English classes next semester so you’re not doing double duty?”

A hint of a smile crossed her lips. “I’m sure there’s a class or two that fits both our degree requirements,” she replied, picking up one of her poetry books. “Not that I really mind our study da—” she paused to cough, “sessions. Study sessions together.”

Liam raised a coy eyebrow at her, aware of the fact she’d caught herself before saying ‘study dates’ and noticed her cheeks starting to warm to a pink hue. He pressed the sole of his foot to hers and she mirrored the action. “I don’t mind them either.”

Katrina pushed his foot away playfully, tucking her leg back to sit in a lotus position. “mmhmm,” she hummed. “You’ve got typing to do, and now I have poems I need to read and analyze.”

“Yes ma’am,” he nodded, grinning once more before turning his attention back to the document on his laptop screen.

.:.

Eventually Liam started fighting off yawns as he typed, aware of the late hour creeping up on him. Katrina noticed as well, silently bookmarking her reading as she climbed down from her end of the bed. Liam gave her a quizzical look, his eyebrows scrunching together as he watched her set her things on her roommate’s bed. “Is Lis studying late at the library?” He saved the document on the screen and closed his laptop, fighting off another yawn. “If you can give me a blanket and pillow, I’ve already carved out a spot on the floor.”

Katrina scoffed at him, picking up a notebook from her desk. “You’re not sleeping on the floor. You can take my bed. I’m going to work on Lis’s bed,” she explained. “She’s…staying with one of our friends tonight, even though I told her we’d just be studying.” Liam looked at her skeptically as she grabbed a large throw pillow from the pile behind him. “Clean sheets for you, you look like you’re ready to hit the sack.”

“Like clockwork,” he sighed, getting out of the bed to turn down the sheets. Katrina turned off the main room light, casting half the room into shadow. A bookshelf at the foot of Katrina’s bed blocked out most of the light from the small lamp she’d switched on, Lis’s books and other items filtering the warm yellow glow to where he was. “You can leave the light on so you don’t strain your eyes.”

“It’s fine, I do this all the time when Lis is here.” Katrina pointed to herself with both hands. “Nocturnal girl, remember? I’m just getting started.” The music in the room came to a stop as she fiddled with her phone before plugging headphones into the jack. Liam nodded, rustling through his bag until he pulled out a dopp kit and small towel before stepping out of the room. Katrina closed the window and got situated on her roommate’s bed, propping a pillow against the wall and leaned against it, flipping a book open to resume her reading. A few minutes later, Liam returned, closing the door slowly behind him. She sat up and peered over to him. “Can you lock it? I uh, it’s a thing and I—”

“Say no more, I get it,” Liam answered softly, turning the lock on the doorknob. He put his things away, pausing as he stood before Katrina’s bed.

“You okay over there?”

“I um, well…” he began, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

Katrina tipped her head to the side. “What’s going on?”

“It’s just that I sort of…” he paused, leaning back to look over at her in the other bed, a nervous grin on his face. “I sleep in my underwear, unless it’s absolutely freezing. I move around a lot when I sleep and wearing pants gets me all twisted up in the blankets.”

“Oh!” Katrina clasped a hand to cover her mouth, trying to hide her smile. “Well, I can umm…” she paused to set her book down, eyes flitting to the gaps on the shelf where she could see through to her bed. “I can…hang a sheet?”

“You know what? We’re both adults,” Liam uttered quickly. “I’m fine if you are.”

“Totally fine.” Katrina tucked her lips between her teeth, glint of mischief in her eyes. “Knock yourself out, you’ll get a live wakeup from me in the morning,” she giggled. She averted her eyes as Liam pulled his pants down and got into her bed, her mind already vibrating with nervous energy.  _Liam’s in his underwear in.my.bed. Hot guy in my bed. And I’m over here, still studying like a nerd._ Katrina shifted her attention to the poem in front of her, eyes roaming over the words again and again as she tried to ignore the blurry movements of Liam settling into her bed, out of frame from her glasses.

Liam coughed and cleared his throat, rustling the jersey sheets and down comforter from Katrina’s bedding. As he laid his head down into one of the pillows, he caught the scent of her jasmine perfume and smiled to himself. He craned his neck up to peek at her between books on the shelf, watching her chew on her bottom lip as she read on her roommate’s bed, twirling the end of one of the braids between her fingers. Illuminated by the incandescent light of the lamp, he wanted nothing more than to rush across the room and kiss her. For the first time, Liam felt nervous to make a move. His mind went back to Drake’s words –  _you’re more than friends, we all see it. Katrina will practically jump you when you ask her out_  – and how the pair of them spent nearly all their free time together since he worked up the courage to text her. He knew she was waiting for him to ask her out on a date, and she would say yes, but he couldn’t figure out why he was now so nervous to ask a question he knew the answer to.

_Because you’re falling in love with her_. Liam closed his eyes and breathed deep, knowing the voice inside his head was right.  _This is worth so much more than just a date now. If she doesn’t feel the same way, you’re setting yourself up to get hurt again_. “Hey, Trina?” Liam called out, just loud enough for her to hear.

“Yeah?”

“Goodnight.” He leaned up to look at her through the shelf, a tired but sweet smile on his face.

She smiled back at him as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, waving her fingers. “Sweet dreams, Liam.”

Liam let his head fall back into the pillow – her pillow – breathing in the scent of her perfume on the pillowcase, and shut his eyes.  _Tomorrow. I should ask her out tomorrow._


	8. Pigeons and Pancakes

**SATURDAY - MORNING/AFTERNOON**

Katrina did her best to focus on her reading list as Liam slept in her bed, just a few feet away. Every time she caught movement in her field of vision, she did her best to contain her laughter. Liam was an incredibly fidgety sleeper – he would toss and turn every few minutes, kicking one of his legs out from under the blankets before tucking it back under the blankets moments later. If it weren’t for the sounds of his slow, even breathing, she would have thought he was awake the entire time.

The hours ticked by as she spent more time thinking about Liam and catching his movements as he slept, rather than working on her reading assignments. Studying wasn’t going as well as she’d hoped, and if the two of them were going to be alone all day tomorrow, it would prove to be just as difficult. She changed positions in the bed, hoping that if she couldn’t physically see Liam, she would be able to concentrate. The tactic worked for a short while, until she had to use the bathroom. Though he appeared to be fast asleep, she wasn’t sure if he was a light or heavy sleeper, and the dorm’s old floorboards were notoriously loud and creaky.

Katrina quietly made her way out of the bed, walking gingerly across the floor on her toes, trying to avoid spots she knew were prone to creaking.  _If he’s awake, I’m going to look like I’m performing some weird dance in the dark_. She picked up a pair of her slippers by the door and crept out to the hallway, breathing a sigh of relief once she was on the other side of the door. She repeated the process after using the bathroom, creeping back into the room as quietly as possible, locking the door behind her. Peering over to her bed where Liam was, he was still fast asleep, turned away from her.

She resumed her work until sunrise, when the first rays of cool Autumn light tinted the blinds in shades of peach and burnt orange. It was still before 7 am, but her eyes burned and felt weary from a night full of reading. She stifled a yawn as Liam rolled over again in his sleep, sighing heavily into the pillow.  _At least he doesn’t snore_. She closed the books fanned out around her, piling them on the windowsill, along with her laptop, opting to check news sites and various apps on her phone to stay awake until she had to rouse him.

Promptly at 7, Katrina crossed the short distance of the room to stand near her bed to wake Liam, smiling to herself as she took in the way his hair stuck out in different directions from tossing about in his sleep. His face was completely relaxed, and she almost hated to wake him. “Liam, psst,” she whispered, nudging his shoulder with her hand. “It’s seven, time to get up.”

Liam croaked a low noise in response, turning to bury his face in the pillow. Katrina gasped with surprise as his arm shot out from underneath him, shoving her back squarely in the shoulder. “Dammit Drake,” Liam mumbled, “I’ll get up when Trina calls and not a minute sooner!”

Laughter bubbled up from Katrina’s throat as she took hold of Liam’s hand, running her thumb across his knuckles. “No phone calls this time, I’m afraid.”

Liam pulled his hand back and froze in place. He turned his head enough to squint at Katrina with one eye. “Oh my god, did I just hit you? I’m so sorry!”

“Forget where you were for a minute?”

“Something like that. Thanks for waking me.”

Katrina turned and rifled through her messenger bag, pulling out a small set of keys and her student ID. “Here, to get in the building and into the room after your run, I’m not staying up to let you in,” she chuckled. “My turn to sleep now.”

“Right. Right!” Liam sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“Your hair’s adorable, by the way,” she teased, crossing the room to retrieve her things from the windowsill. Liam rushed to smooth his hair down before getting out of bed, pulling on his sweatpants as quickly as possible. Katrina cast a sly glance in his direction as his back was turned, admiring his slim legs and the way his boxer briefs hugged him. She plugged her laptop to its charger, setting the stack of books next to it on her desk.

Liam started pulling running gear from his bag, along with his dopp kit again. “I need to change before I head out, but anything I should know before I go? Should I be super quiet coming back?”

“Just lock the door when you leave, I’m a fairly light sleeper but you don’t need to tiptoe around me. I have extra towels on the shelf in my closet, help yourself to clean up after your run. Just um, give me a few hours to rest my eyes. I’m typically up before 11.” She yawned as she hopped into the bed, pulling the covers over her legs. The bedding was still warm from Liam, and all she wanted to do was curl up in the space he’d been in.

“Lock the door. Towels on the shelf. Wake by 11. Check,” Liam repeated. He gathered his things to change, smiling at Katrina before leaving the room.

Katrina flipped the pillow to the cool side before laying down, curled up in the remnants of Liam’s body heat in the sheets. She felt comforted laying there, her eyelids heavy with the promise of sleep. It almost felt like they were sharing the space together as she closed her eyes, tucking the blanket under her chin. Even though her mind raced with the idea of spending an entire day together, she’d drifted off to sleep before Liam returned from the bathroom.

Liam closed the door gently upon his return, having washed his face and brushed his teeth, in addition to changing into an old t-shirt and running pants. He grinned at the sight of Katrina in bed, already fast asleep with a tiny smile across her pouty lips. He moved about the room quietly so as not to disturb her, tucking her ID and room key into a pocket with his own ID. He thought about snapping a photo of her asleep but decided against it, not wanting to violate her privacy. He turned to look at her one more time as he left, hoping she was having pleasant dreams, before locking the door and walking down the hallway.

.:.

Liam planned his morning run to last longer than usual, so that he wouldn’t risk waking Katrina upon his return. As he walked back to campus, he texted a few of his friends from the team to meet them for breakfast at the dining hall, so he picked up his pace to get ready to meet them on time.

He rounded the corner to Katrina’s room, slipping the key into the lock and opened the door quietly. He moved across the floor like a thief in the night, holding his breath with every step in case the floor creaked, but Katrina was a heavier sleeper than she let on. Gathering a change of clothes from his bags and after grabbing a towel from her closet, he crept back out of the room to shower and get dressed.

Liam was sitting on the floor, tucking things away in his overnight bag, when he heard Katrina mumbling above him in bed. He ducked out from under her bed and stood up at the edge of the mattress, looking down at her; her braids were frizzy from tossing and turning, and it looked like she was pointing at him, though her hand rested on the pillow. “Trina?” he whispered. “Are you awake?” He flicked his wrist to check the time on his watch – it was almost 9, but still too early to wake her.

Katrina’s eyebrows pinched together. “Did you feed that pigeon?”

Liam stared at her, a perplexed grin spreading across his face. “A…pigeon?”

“Dirty sky rat,” she grumbled.  _Oh my god, she’s dreaming and talking in her sleep._  “You fed it, now it’s gonna follow us.”

Liam snorted air through his nose, trying not to laugh. “I promise I didn’t feed any pigeons,” he whispered, barely able to contain his laughter.

Katrina’s face twisted in frustration, and Liam tucked his lips between his teeth to withhold more laughter. “Just give him the damn pancake,” she answered, raising her hand to point in the air.

“Huh?”

“The pancake!” Katrina clicked her tongue. “Oh no, the duck is here too. We should go, the duck is mean.”

“I don’t—” Liam clamped a hand over his mouth, shoulders shaking as he laughed at whatever strange dream was playing out in Katrina’s mind. His shoulders shook even more when she started to pout.

“I lost my pancake. Goddamn birds,” she sighed, before rolling over and burying her face into the pillow.

Liam stood there, tears gathering in the outer corners of his eyes, doing what he could to avoid bursting with laughter.  _What on earth is she dreaming about?_  His phone buzzed in his pocket, pulling him away from whatever he just witnessed, and he texted his friend that he was on the way. With Katrina’s ID and keys in hand, he locked the door again and knew exactly what he’d have with him upon his return to her dorm.

.:.

Katrina woke to the sound of her phone buzzing on her nightstand, blindly reaching for it as she pulled away the cobwebs of sleep from her eyes.  _Stupid bird and pancake dream…again_. She blinked several times, adjusting to the morning light in the room, holding the phone close to her face to make out the Caller ID on the screen.  _Josie_. She swiped her thumb across the screen to answer, peering around the room for any sign of Liam, but the room was empty. “Sis, it’s Sunday. Before noon. What have I told you about that?!”

After taking several minutes to talk to her sister and calm her down from a teenage tantrum, Katrina stretched and yawned in bed, unable to fall back to sleep. She slipped on her glasses and texted Liam, then worked on undoing the braids in her hair while she waited to hear back from him. She asked him to charge a massive cup of coffee to the meal plan on her ID when he was done with breakfast, and decided to take another shower while she had the room to herself, as her long raven locks were too frizzy to tame in a bun.

She hopped around the room post-shower, long hair whipping against her arms as she bobbed her head and lip synced to Letters to Cleo’s “I Want You to Want Me” while she got dressed. Wriggling into a pair of black leggings, she fished a pair of bright aqua socks from a dresser drawer along with a black tank top. She smiled to herself when she laid her eyes on a familiar blue sweatshirt, plucking it from the drawer along with a plain black v-neck shirt. She slipped the v-neck over her head and punched her arms through the sleeves in time with the song, and had just pulled the sweatshirt over her head, shimmying her shoulders as she tugged the oversized sweatshirt over her lithe frame when she heard the sound of the door unlocking. She continued dancing as Liam stepped into the room and silently waved at her, his face lighting up as she got into the song and she waved her arms around, her body swaying from side to side.

_She makes dancing to alternative rock look adorably sexy_. Liam slipped the keys into his pocket and smiled at Katrina, taking note that she was wearing his high school sweatshirt. She’d borrowed it weeks ago one night while they were hanging out and got chilly, and it seemed to be the only thing she’d forget to bring with her every time he’d mention wanting it back. He was only half-serious in wanting it back, knowing she was essentially holding it hostage, and the only way he’d ever get it back was if he stole it back from her. “Nice sweatshirt.” He jutted his chin towards her and smirked, holding up a takeout container of food and a large coffee. “Breakfast…er, brunch, I guess?”

Katrina took the food from Liam, her fingers brushing over his when she took the coffee from his hand, and grinned at him. “Thanks. I was just going to eat leftovers, but whatever you picked up still feels warm in here,” she replied, raising the paper container a little higher in the air. She set the items down on her desk, turning to open the mini fridge door, and pulled a small container of almond milk from inside.

“Coffee’s already the way you like it, sweetened and with almond milk mixed in to just the right shade.”

Katrina slowly returned the milk to the shelf in the fridge. “You know…my coffee to milk ratio?” She lifted the lid from the coffee cup, noting the shade of the magical elixir before her, and took several small sips to taste it.  _He knows how I take my coffee. I’ll be damned_. Liam raised his eyebrows at her, waiting for a response. “Well then…four for you, Glen Coco!” She smiled and shook her head, taking in a longer sip and relished the warm feeling as the coffee traveled down her throat and into her stomach. “What was the special at the dining hall this morning?” She flipped open the food container and stared at the contents.  _How did he…?_

“Something wrong with the food? I wasn’t sure if you’d like blueberry or chocolate chip, so I got both,” Liam answered, shrugging off his hoodie. He tossed it onto the foot of Katrina’s bed before pushing up the sleeves of his shirt, and hopped onto the bed, swinging his legs thanks to the extra distance from the floor. “Eggs and bacon so you’re not just eating carbs.”

“Everything’s great,” Katrina stammered. “Though if I had to choose, I’d go with blueberry. I jus—” she turned to look at him, laughing softly as he dangled his legs like a kid. “I woke up thinking about pancakes this morning, and you’ve literally made a dream come true by bringing me food.”

Liam let out a small laugh as Katrina sat at her desk and started to dig in to her meal. He scooted across the edge of the bed and leaned over to pick up one of his textbooks, mindlessly flipping it open and turning the pages. “You uh…” he paused to scratch the back of his head. “You were talking in your sleep this morning, just before I left for breakfast.”

“NO!” Katrina covered her mouth with her hand, working to chew the large forkful of blueberry pancake she’d just consumed. She felt her cheeks starting to warm.

“It was entertaining, to say the least,” Liam grinned. “Something about a pigeon following you over a pancake, and you weren’t happy a duck appeared, and then you lost the pancake.” Katrina buried her face in her hands as he spoke. “I figured your subconscious mind would appreciate the gesture, since it already lost one pancake to feathered foes.” He started laughing, his cheeks pulling his smile back even wider when Katrina’s head shot up and she glared at him in disbelief. Then she started to laugh with him, and his heart swelled at the sound of her joy.

Katrina swallowed the bit of food in her mouth, feeling like her cheeks were on fire. “I guess it’s been sort of a recurring dream lately.” She shifted to slice the side of the plastic fork into the pancakes, stabbing the small stack before setting it back down in the container. “I don’t know who I’m with, but I’m walking and this pigeon starts following us…and gets part of a pancake in a takeout box. Sometimes a duck shows up and tries to steal the pancake from the pigeon, sometimes it quacks at me and…charges at me, or something.” She laughed again. “It’s all really random, and I only remember it because I’ve had the dream…” she paused and tapped an index finger to her lips, mentally tallying up a number in her head. “Five? Times now.”

“You called the pigeon a dirty sky rat,” Liam chuckled, bowing his head down to glance at the words on the page as he smiled.

Katrina laughed again. “That’s what they are!”

“It made me curious,” he replied, pulling his phone from his pants pocket. “I uh, looked up what dreaming about those things meant – not that I put a lot of weight into dream analysis or symbolism or whatever you call it,” he added, looking up at her. Opening a note on his phone, he read off the text. “Pigeons and doves in dreams can symbolize freedom or love, and they’re usually a good omen. If it’s one of those grey, multicolored ones it could mean finding money you’ve lost or forgotten…ducks in a dream usually symbolize good fortune, or it could be a sign of gossip. Is it running or swimming after you in the dream?”

“Rumfring,” Katrina mumbled, covering her mouth as she chewed another bite of her meal. Liam peered up from his phone and she swallowed to clear her throat. “Running,” she repeated. “Vaguely looks like Central Park in the dream.”

He scrolled through the notes on his screen. “Running ducks might symbolize an important secret that you discover, or reveal about yourself to someone else.” He heard Katrina cough nervously. “And pancakes in dreams,” he continued, “usually symbolize a happy time in your life, where you feel safe. On the flipside, they could also mean poverty or loss. Even found a few sites that interpreted the consistency of pancakes to mean something.”

“They were fluffy. What do fluffy pancakes mean, oh dream interpreter?” she teased. Liam shot her a playful smirk as she bit into a strip of bacon.

“Fluffy… fluffy…” Liam repeated to himself, scrolling through the note. He let out a nervous laugh and scratched the back of his neck again. Katrina raised her eyebrows at him, waiting for an answer. “Fluffy…” he started, pausing to clear his throat. “Fluffy means, uh, you’ll have good luck courting the person you intend to marry.”

Katrina swallowed hard, feeling the crispy bacon scratch the inside of her throat, and she coughed, struggling not to laugh at Liam’s answer.  _I’m in hell, this is my personal hell now. My subconscious is dreaming about Liam and I’ve basically admitted that I think about him all the damn time_. “Interesting analysis…if I believed in that sort of thing,” she scoffed, turning to take several large gulps of coffee.

“Yup.” Liam tucked his phone back into his pocket, face taut as he struggled not to smile. “So…study until one of us concedes?”

“Music? No music?”

“Something without words, maybe.”

Katrina picked up her phone and opened the music app, searching for an instrumental playlist, and the music from the speakers switched from The Cardigans to acoustic guitar and piano. “You can cast from your phone too, if you want to change the music at any point.” She tucked her feet under her legs in the seat, flipping open her laptop as she continued to eat, and opened the take home essay for another English class.

.:.

Morning passed into early afternoon, and Katrina and Liam were playing another game while they studied. While they both worked on reviewing notes or typed away at papers, the wireless speaker in the room would switch mid-song to something different every few tracks. It changed from Katrina’s acoustic playlist to Liam’s classical violin, then Katrina changed it to ambient forest sounds, and Liam switched it to seascapes. She switched to swing music, before Liam changed it to modern jazz, but she got him to break the silence when she switched to Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

“I like TSO, but I refuse to listen to Christmas music before Thanksgiving,” Liam protested, shaking his head and smiling. He set aside the statistics work before him and hopped down from the bed, pulling his guitar case from underneath the bed, and clicked it open. “I could use a little break, how about you?”

“Are you finally going to play something for me?” Katrina asked, pausing the music from her phone.

“Yes ma’am,” Liam nodded. He crossed the room and pulled the chair out from Lis’s desk. “Lis won’t mind if I borrow her chair, will she? Your beds are too high to tap while I play.”

“I’m sure she’d be okay with it.” Katrina leaned over the back of her chair and watched intently as Liam sat down and tuned his guitar, fingers plucking at the strings while his left hand turned the keys to adjust the tension.

“Any requests?” He peered up and smiled softly at her before glancing back to his guitar.

“I think Dueling Banjos is out of the question,” she teased. “Surprise me.”

Liam thought for a moment, playing a few random notes as he tried to settle on a song. “Got it,” he uttered quietly, pulling his phone from his pocket. He typed in a song and set it to play over the speaker, feeling excitedly nervous to finally play for Katrina, and his stomach flipped when he glanced up at her again. Her arm laid across the back of the chair, and she was resting her chin on top; a small, anticipatory smile lit up her face like she was about to watch something spectacular. He took a deep breath and pressed play on the screen, setting his phone down on her roommate’s desk as the [instrumental song began to play](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEh9RlbakNU).

Windchimes and soft rainfall filtered around the room from the little speaker, and Liam began to play in time with the track. It was a slow, gentle melody; there were no lyrics to cover up the sound of the guitar in his hands. He closed his eyes as he continued strumming and plucking the strings in time, letting the emotion from the notes wash over him like the first time he heard the song, thinking about her and the night they met.

He recalled the way the simple act of shaking her hand felt strange and comforting all at once, and the way his breath caught in his throat when her hair fell loose like an obsidian waterfall. He frequently longed to touch her hair and brush it away from her face the way he did at the Homecoming dance, or hold her hand the way she held on to his the night they shared their darkest secrets. As the string instruments in the song joined the acoustic guitar, Liam’s mind played over all the little moments he shared with Katrina – joking around with Drake and Olivia, their walks from the café back to her dorm and the growing list of shared rituals between them, like her wakeup calls and the way she’d fight him over escorting her back to her dorm even if it meant staying up past his own bedtime. How her confidence flourished when she started taking self-defense classes at Olivia’s suggestion – even after Olivia was banned for pulling a blade on the instructor during an exercise. Bit by bit, she was coming out of her shell and learning to stand on her own again.

_Olivia’s pointed out that she’s been smiling more, and she’s seen more signs of the feisty, confident version of Trina from before she dated her ex_. Liam opened his eyes, grinning up at Katrina for a moment – she had a dreamy look in her eyes, her own gaze flitting between watching his fingers move as he played, and looking at him. It made his heart skip a beat, knowing she was watching him so intently as he continued to play. He started to formulate a speech in his head to finally ask her on a date when the song came to an end.  _It’s time. This is the right time to ask. I’ve already fallen for her, and at the very least she has feelings for me too._

The notes began to slow as the song started to come to an end, and Liam’s mouth felt dry, working up the courage to say something when he stopped playing. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt so nervous to talk to Katrina; not since that day he accidentally texted her after the party, wondering when the right time was to message her. He flicked his wrist when he played the last few notes of the song, stretching out the chords, and let out a shaky breath before looking up to meet her eyes.

Katrina lifted her head up, unable to stop grinning as Liam finished playing. She had no idea what the song was called, but it was already her new favorite tune. She wanted to listen to it – and watch Liam play it again – all day long. “You play beautifully,” she sighed happily. “What’s the name of that song? It needs to be on my favorite list like, yesterday,” she added, letting out a breathy laugh.

_Falling Into You. Which is exactly what’s happening to me._  “It’s uh, called Falling In—”

Liam was interrupted by the sound of Katrina’s phone buzzing on her desk, and she turned to answer it. “Sorry, it’s my dad.” She held the phone to her ear as she got up and slipped on a pair of shoes. “Hi Dad, what’s up? Just studying for mid-terms.” She mouthed ‘be right back’ to Liam before slipping into the hallway to continue the phone call, and Liam waited until the door clicked shut to drop his head and let out a frustrated sigh.

_So close!_  He thought about keeping the guitar out and playing another song for her, but decided against it and tucked it away in its case. He hopped back onto her bed and texted Drake.

**Liam** : Officially losing it. You were right. I have a crush on Trina, and now I’m nervous.  
**Drake:**  just ASK HER OUT. You know she’ll say yes, she’s been waiting since the night you met her to play pool.  
**Liam** : I missed my chance! I just played a song for her but her father called before I could pop the question.  
**Drake** : …  
**Drake** : then play another song for her, Li.   
**Drake** : …also can you stay there another night? 😅  
**Liam** : YOU OWE ME.   
**Drake** : It’s more time to ask Bailey out on an official date! Liv and I’ll make it up to you, we promise.   
**Liam** : I have a study session tomorrow morning. You have until 1 and then I’m coming back to the room.  
**Drake** : …if you don’t end up taking things to the next level with Bailey, right? 😏  
**Liam** : No, I’m not jumping the gun with Trina unless she’s ready. She deserves the world.   
**Drake** : you sound like you’re proposing to her, not asking her to dinner and a movie

Katrina entered the room again, and her face fell for a split second when she noticed Liam put his guitar away. “Sorry about that, my dad was just checking in on me and wanted to know flight info.” Liam sent off one more text to Drake before setting his phone down. “No more guitar?”

“Perhaps I’ll play again later,” he answered. “Would it be possible to crash here another night? I just talked to Drake and…”

Katrina hummed and gave him a knowing look. “Fine with me, let me text Lis.”

“She can come back, you know. I can sleep on the floor tonight so she’s not exiled from her room.”

“No sleeping on the floor, Liam!” He laughed at her response, and Katrina set her phone down after texting her roommate. “She said she’s fine sleeping in Erin’s room tonight, and you and I can swap my bed again.”

“Okay, okay,” he agreed. “Back to study mode – care to discuss the finer points of Midsummer Night’s Dream?”

“Here we go,” Katrina clapped her hands in response. “I’ll debate with you if we’re allowed to eat as well, I’m starving!”

“Deal, and don’t even think about stealing my eggroll!” 


End file.
